Lubbock Times

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released an analysis detailing the financial impact of Vice President Kamala Harris' border policies on Medicaid spending. According to the CBO, the cost to federal and state taxpayers for providing Medicaid-funded emergency services to illegal aliens has exceeded $16.2 billion since the Biden-Harris Administration took office. This represents a 124% increase compared to similar expenditures during the Trump Administration.

The analysis was conducted following a request from House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX), who sought information on Medicaid spending for emergency services provided to illegal aliens. In response to the findings, Chairman Arrington stated: “The Congressional Budget Office’s analysis confirms that the mass migration of illegal immigrants is costing billions of dollars to Medicaid - a program created to serve the health care needs of the most vulnerable Americans. This is on top of the executive action taken to provide $9 billion in Obamacare to illegal immigrants."

Arrington further criticized the administration's approach, saying: "This Administration’s failure to secure the border not only brought millions of aliens unlawfully into the country but has also drained federal resources and disincentivized individuals from pursuing legal avenues for migration."

Under current legislation, specifically the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 signed by President Clinton, illegal aliens are barred from accessing most federal benefits, including Medicaid. However, they can receive Medicaid benefits for emergency medical services if they would otherwise qualify for Medicaid except for their immigration status.

Chairman Arrington emphasized concerns over national debt and fiscal security: "With over $16.2 billion flowing from federal and state governments’ coffers to pay for emergency services for illegal aliens, it is clear that Open Border Czar Vice President Harris’s failed border policies remain the greatest threat to both the United States’s national security and our economic standing.”

House Budget Committee Republicans are focused on understanding how increased illegal migration affects federal healthcare programs like Medicaid, which they believe should be reserved for American citizens in need.