Senate Committee Defeats Immigration Amendment to Health Care Proposal but Verification Remains Intact
The Senate Finance Committee is considering amendments to Committee Chairman Max Baucus' health care reform proposal, and they defeated an immigration-related amendment offered by Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Jon Kyl. The amendments would have required applicants for Medicaid or tax subsidies to show a government-issued photo ID. They were both defeated along party lines.
Even though the amendments were defeated, verification remains in Chairman Baucus' markup. Chairman Baucus called for applicants to provide the state with name, social security number and date of birth. The information would then be compared with data from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. The SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) program is capable of handing this type of verification.
We will continue to monitor Senate markup and alert you of any updates.