After Arizona Shootings, Background Checks Examined: Congress Refuses To Fund All Changes Made After Virginia Tech

/PRNewswire/ -- The following was released today by Mayors Against Illegal Guns:

The Tucson shooter, Jared Loughner, had a history of drug arrests, drug abuse and mental health issues. He was nonetheless able to pass a federal background check and buy the Glock pistol and high-capacity magazines he used to kill six people and seriously injure 13 others. Why? Because the federal background check system has critical gaps and is chronically underfunded - even though Congress and President George W. Bush reformed the program after the Virginia Tech massacre.

The shootings in Arizona supply the latest example of the system's serious flaws. Under federal law, drug abusers and addicts are prohibited from buying guns. Loughner was arrested on drug charges in 2007 and rejected from enlistment from the U.S. Army in 2008 after admitting to habitual drug use. Less than a year later, he passed a background check and bought a shotgun. If the system had worked and records were available to demonstrate Loughner's drug offense and abuse, he would have failed that background check.

This is not the first time the failure to obtain and maintain relevant records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) allowed a dangerous person to slip through cracks in the law. On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 people at Virginia Tech before taking his own life. Cho was found to be a danger to himself by a special justice of the Montgomery County General District Court on December 14, 2005. Therefore, under federal law, Cho could not purchase any firearm. But the records of his mental health problem weren't in the NICS system because the general practice at the time was to only submit involuntary inpatient mental health orders, even though outpatient orders are also disqualifying under federal law.

In the wake of Virginia Tech, there was a national consensus to require better reporting of mental health records to the NICS system, and Congress responded. Less than two months after the shootings, the House unanimously passed the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, which created incentives for states to improve the reporting of mental health information into background check system. The Senate passed an amended bill, again unanimously, later that year. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law on January 8, 2008.

The number of mental health NICS records has increased significantly under the new law, but there is much more to be done:

* There were 298,571 mental health records at the end of 2006.
* There were 1,107,758 mental health records at the end of 2010.
* The best available estimates indicate that there are more than 1,000,000 mental health records still missing, along with millions of other records on various types of prohibited purchasers.


Some states have made dramatic progress:

* According to the most recent state-specific data available – as of March 31, 2010 – three states have submitted more than 100,000 records:
o California: 256,106, an increase from 21 records at the end of 2006.
o New York: 154,962, an increase from 1 record at the end of 2006.
o Virginia: 139,185, an increase from 78,478 records at the end of 2006.
* Arizona has also made some progress:
o Arizona has submitted 5,036 records, up from zero at the end of 2006.


Still, many states have made little or no progress reporting largely because Congress failed to follow through with funding. Federal appropriators have granted only 5.3% of the authorized amount from FY 2009 through FY 2011:

Fiscal Year	Authorized Amount	Actual Appropriations
FY2009	$187.5 million	$10 million (5.3%)
FY2010	$375 million	$20 million (5.3%)
FY2011	$375 million	$20 million* (5.3%)

*Continuing Resolution funded NICS Improvement Act program at FY10 level. FY11 appropriations legislation has not been enacted.

In part as a result of chronic underfunding, ten states still have no people flagged as mentally ill in NICS: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Eighteen more states and the District of Columbia still have fewer than 100 people listed as mentally ill in NICS: Iowa, Utah, Maryland, Vermont, Maine, Illinois, South Carolina, New Jersey, Kentucky, Montana, Wyoming, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oregon, and South Dakota.

Millions of records are still missing. As of December 31, 2011, only 2,092 people are listed as drug abusers or addicts in NICS.

The American Legion to Senate: 'DREAM Act Rewards Crime'

/PRNewswire -- The National Commander of The American Legion called on the U.S. Senate to stop the so-called DREAM Act after the bill passed in the House of Representatives, 216-198, yesterday.

"Some people mistakenly believe that the DREAM Act would encourage military service and the pursuit of college education," National Commander Jimmie L. Foster said. "Instead, it rewards illegal behavior. It says to those who are trying to legally enter our country, disregard the law and you will ultimately be rewarded. It might be called the DREAM Act, but it's really an amnesty nightmare."

A resolution passed by The American Legion's National Executive Committee, or board of directors, states, in part, "That The American Legion opposes legislation that would result in the granting of amnesty and legal residency, in any form or by any name, to illegal immigrants currently in the United States."

The nation's largest veterans service organization also opposes granting financial aid or "in-state tuition rates," to those who are here illegally. "The United States has dwindling financial resources, as those in the veterans and military communities are frequently reminded," Foster said. "Why would we want to spend those limited resources on educating people who have no legal right to be in this country? The American Legion has a comprehensive immigration strategy that can be found on our website, www.legion.org. That strategy begins with securing our borders."

Foster encourages members of The American Legion family and other like-minded citizens to call their U.S. senators and urge them to vote "No," on the DREAM Act. The number to the Capitol Switchboard is 877-762-8762.

With a current membership of 2.4-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.

Libertarian Chair: Time to Re-Legalize Immigration

Amid controversy over U.S. immigration policy, Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle says the proper way to end illegal immigration is to re-legalize immigration. Hinkle released the following statement today:

"In debate after debate, Democratic and Republican politicians have decried the problem of illegal immigration, called for more border security and employer sanctions, and eagerly searched for evidence that their rivals employed undocumented help. The Obama administration proudly touts the fact that it is deporting more undocumented aliens than George W. Bush, while many of the families they support remain stranded in the United States, and most of whom were guilty of nothing more than the inability to satisfy a nightmarish bureaucracy.

"Our government has made it practically impossible for most would-be immigrants to work legally in America, a fact illustrated by this flowchart from Reason Magazine.

"For most of American history, immigrants streamed into this country, found jobs, and either stayed to build a life or returned to their native country if they couldn't. America was admired by the world and proudly displayed an ode to immigration on the Statue of Liberty, within sight of the major processing center at Ellis Island. We can and should return to that tradition.

"Every significant problem blamed on immigration in this country is either imaginary or caused by government. In Arizona, where illegal immigrants are being blamed for an increase in violent crime, violent crime has actually been declining for a decade, and declining much faster than the national average. Immigrants (both legal and illegal) commit crimes at lower rates than natives. If you're worried about gangs, then end the War on Drugs which funds them, just as it did the gangsters under alcohol prohibition.

"Immigrants are often accused of overloading the welfare system. This is again the fault of a government program. But the idea that welfare is a magnet for immigrants is a myth. In an ingeniously designed study by University of Hawaii Professor Ken Schoolland, patterns of migration within the 50 states, which have no travel restrictions between them, were studied. Schoolland found that were was, in fact, a very strong correlation between welfare and immigration: it was strongly negative. All of the states with the highest levels of government welfare benefits experienced net emigration to other states, and all of the states with the lowest levels of welfare experienced net immigration. Arizona, the current focus of anti-immigrant fears, ranks 46th in welfare benefits.

"Immigrants come here to work. Anyone who works and produces makes others better off. And unemployment and immigration actually are another two factors with a negative correlation. There has only been one decade in American history in which we did not have net immigration: the 1930s. If that is your idea of a great decade, you can have it.

"One unintended side effect of border crackdowns is to increase the number of undocumented aliens who remain because of the difficulty and cost of leaving and returning. Another is to create an 'underground railroad' that makes it easier for terrorists to enter without detection. The overwhelming majority of immigrants would love to come in through the front door. It is our bad immigration policy that has constructed the back door.

"It is time we stopped scapegoating the people who represent what is most admired about America. When the Libertarian Party was formed in 1971, we selected the Statue of Liberty as our symbol. We're the only political party that deserves it."

The Libertarian Party platform includes the following:

"3.4 Free Trade and Migration
"We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade. Political freedom and escape from tyranny demand that individuals not be unreasonably constrained by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders. However, we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals who pose a credible threat to security, health or property."

The Libertarian Party platform is available in Spanish.

The Libertarian Party has 21 candidates for U.S. Senate and 169 candidates for U.S. House in the upcoming November 2010 elections.

A Gift to the Drug Cartels

/PRNewswire/ -- A new Center for Immigration Studies Memorandum explores how seemingly innocuous legislation before the Senate could turn 25 miles of southeast New Mexico's Dona Ana County into a staging ground for drug cartels and illegal alien smugglers.

S. 1689, the "Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act," changes the currently designated "public use" of certain Department of Interior lands to a "wilderness" designation. The end result would be to severely curtail the Border Patrol's ability to operate due to the stringent nature of wilderness laws. New Mexico could suffer the same results as Arizona, as documented by the Center in its mini-documentary series (http://cis.org/HiddenCamerasSeries) showing the waste, destruction, and unsafe circumstances that borderlands suffer when wilderness laws (and poor federal government policy) create a law enforcement vacuum.

The new Center for Immigration Studies Memorandum, "A Gift to the Drug Cartels: Will New Mexico Become the Next Arizona?" (http://cis.org/new-mexico-cartel-gift), authored by Janice Kephart, Director of National Security Policy at the Center and producer of the "Hidden Cameras" mini-documentary series, leaves no doubt that bill's goal is to support legitimate environmental conservation. However, through an in-depth examination of current law and policy, Kephart concludes that the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act would leave the Border Patrol with little ability, and little incentive, to do its job. The measure would effectively hand drug cartels 25 more borderland miles for operations; an alternative would be to assure conservation with adequate law enforcement in the area, thus keeping the cartels under control while protecting our public safety and national security.

The measure, co-sponsored by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy &Natural Resources, and Tom Udall (D-NM), was passed out of Chairman Bingaman's committee in July 2010 and is awaiting consideration on the Senate floor.

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent non-partisan research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States and neither endorses nor opposes legislation.

Log Cabin Republicans Call on Senator Harry Reid to a Full and Open Debate of the Defense Authorization Bill

/PRNewswire/ -- The Log Cabin Republicans are appalled by the overwrought political actions by Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) by merely allowing 3 Democrat-only amendments to the Defense Authorization Bill (FY2011 NDAA). Right now, Senator Harry Reid is not permitting any open debate or other amendments to this bill.

However, one of the 3 amendments that does have Senator Harry Reid's full support is the DREAM ACT. The DREAM ACT would offer paths to citizenship for undocumented students who came to the US as children, most likely illegally. Nevada has the largest percentage of illegal immigrants in the United States.

"Senator Harry Reid is treating the United States Senate like his own personal re-election campaign," says R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director, Log Cabin Republicans. "We are simply asking the majority to play fair and not stack the bill with Democrat-only amendments that help Senator Reid's re-election bid and could potentially kill any Republican support."

Also appalled by the process, or lack thereof, are Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Senator Collins "would like the Senate to proceed to a full and open debate on the Defense Authorization bill, with members to offer other amendments on all relevant issues."

The Log Cabin Republicans met early today with Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) minority staff and were told, "the hay is in the barn." However, the LCR wants to know if that is the case "then why aren't the horses feeding?"

Sen. Reid's Former Campaign Manager Makes Shocking Revelations of Illegal, Undeclared Donations

/PRNewswire/ -- The hot item generating buzz on the internet and heartburn in Democratic circles is KMZQ's morning host Steve Wark's 8/26 interview with Don Williams, Sen. Harry Reid's former campaign manager and 30-year associate.

Danny Tarkanian, chairman of 1001 Reasons to Vote Against Harry Reid, listened to the interview (click here: http://www.harryreidvotes.com/media/) and commented, "I'm certain Sen. Reid will denounce his old friend and campaign manager Don Williams and call him every vile name in the book. However, Williams has taken polygraph tests and the results would indicate that he is telling the truth."

KMZQ's host Steve Wark added, "Don Williams is a legend in the political and business circles in Nevada. He took the polygraph multiple times about this information and most folks would consider his stories about Harry Reid's consorting with Nevada's most famous pimp unimpeachable. After an hour I was convinced that Harry Reid was much more effective as a whore trader than a horse trader."

Tarkanian continued, "Many of these stories fit into the Reid pattern of saying one thing and doing the opposite. While brothels are legal in Nevada, Sen. Reid has emphatically stated over the years that he would never, ever accept money from anyone involved in prostitution. Well, accepting brown bags of cash from Joe Conforte of Mustang Ranch fame would certainly enable him to skirt the FEC reporting requirement which would have revealed his hypocrisy."

"There are more Reid stories about FEC law violations, mysterious bags of absentee ballots and disturbing quid pro quo with some extremely shady characters, and I would encourage my fellow citizens to listen to the interview in its entirety. I believe Don Williams, and I believe that Nevadans deserve better than Harry Reid," concluded Tarkanian.

'1001 Reasons to Vote Against Harry Reid' exists online at http://www.harryreidvotes.com/ for the purpose of educating the public about Senator Reid's voting record and raising the funds necessary to finance television and radio ads this fall. It is an independent 527 committee chaired by Nevada resident and former U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian. Voters are encouraged to visit the HarryReidVotes.com website and use the interactive quiz function, http://www.harryreidvotes.com/quiz, to see how their views align with Senator Reid's votes.

Opinion: Outside Help for Social Security

Rarely do you see two of our country's most intractable problems - illegal immigration and the solvency of Social Security - lumped together in the same sentence.

I would like to propose an imperfect idea that could address both problems at once. The plan wouldn't have to work that well to be an improvement on the current immigration system, and we know the financing problems of Social Security are dire.

So here goes: We allow immigrant workers to come to the United States to work for up to three years. The cost of a work permit would be that immigrant workers and/or their employers would have to pay Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes. Workers would not be able to get benefits from either system even though they paid taxes, thereby lessening the impact of the looming Baby Boomer retirement on both programs.
Some illegal immigrants pay such taxes now and cannot benefit, but routinizing this arrangement would maximize taxes paid and reduce identity theft. Employers would get employees, and workers would get a job that enabled them to return money to their home nation. At the end of three years, they would return home.

I start out with two basic assumptions - that the benefits of illegal immigration accrue mostly to the immigrants and their employers, and that these same benefits outweigh the costs to society as a whole.
If it were the other way around, we would have found a more effective means of stopping illegal immigration. The benefits include the contribution of illegal workers to the economy, perhaps doing jobs that citizens don't want. Costs include health care and other social services, notably schooling that is provided to workers and their children.
The intangible benefits and costs of the cultural diversity inherent with illegal immigration are difficult to estimate, and I doubt if any analysis on such a subjective question would change the views of many people, so I assume they are a wash.

I acknowledge there are many problems with my idea. First, one reason illegal labor is attractive to employers is because they can presumably pay such workers lower wages. Such employers are unlikely to want any change.
Second, lack of health insurance and the related issues of a person receiving care in an emergency room will remain. We would need to develop a catastrophic insurance scheme that could be financed primarily or fully by immigrant workers. (most workers are likely to be young and healthy).
Third, what if they have kids while in the U.S.? Currently, that child is an American citizen, with all the afforded rights. There have been suggestions of changing the Constitution so that children so born would not be citizens. What about children born to parents of mixed status (one parent a citizen, the other not)? This is a tangled issue with many dimensions, and some sort of compromise solution would have to be worked out.
Fourth, this doesn't address the illegal immigrants currently in the U.S. I view the deportation of 12 million people as unrealistic, so some form of amnesty is inevitable.
And, finally, how do we make sure the workers leave the country when their three years are up? The best hope of doing so is transforming a now-illegal labor market into a workable guest worker program that can be monitored.
These problems notwithstanding, the biggest benefit of my idea is that it acknowledges that some employers now see fit to hire illegal immigrants. If they didn't, there wouldn't be an illegal immigration problem. The goal should be to maintain this source of labor if it is truly important to our economy, but to do so in a way that broadens the benefits of now-illegal labor by helping to address the financing problems of Social Security and Medicare.
And if it turned out that persons no longer wanted to come to work under this arrangement, or that employers no longer wanted to hire them because they would be forced to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, then we would have developed a market-based solution to illegal immigration where an interdiction approach has not worked, and seems unrealistic.

By Donald H. Taylor Jr.  

Donald H. Taylor Jr. is an associate professor of public policy at Duke who blogs at www.donaldhtaylorjr.blogspot.com

----

Judicial Watch Files Lawsuit to Obtain Records of Phoenix Police Chief's Involvement in Obama Administration Lawsuit Challenging SB 1070

/PRNewswire/ -- Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it filed a lawsuit on August 4, 2010, against the City of Phoenix pursuant to Arizona Public Records Law to obtain records related to Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris' sworn declaration in the Obama administration's lawsuit challenging Arizona immigration law SB 1070 (Judicial Watch v. City of Phoenix, Case No. CV 2010 052443 (Superior Court of AZ Maricopa County)).

Judicial Watch is seeking the following records: "Any and all records concerning or relating to the preparation or submission of the Declaration of Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris, dated June 25, 2010, in the matter captioned United States of America v. State of Arizona, Case No. 2:10-cv-01413-SRB (D. District of Arizona)..." Judicial Watch is also seeking documents regarding communications between Harris and the Obama administration, including the Department of Justice. The Phoenix Police Department received Judicial Watch's request on July 13, 2010, but has failed to produce any documents or indicate when documents will be forthcoming.

On or before June 25, 2010, Chief Harris prepared and/or signed a declaration to be submitted on behalf of the U.S. government in its lawsuit challenging SB 1070. On July 6, 2010, the U.S. government attached Chief Harris' declaration to its motion in support of a preliminary injunction.

The Phoenix City Council, however, made the decision in May 2010 to stay neutral in the legal battle between the State of Arizona and the federal government over SB 1070. According to the Arizona Daily Star, in response to a threat by Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon to challenge the new illegal immigration law, "Phoenix City Attorney Gary Verburg said only the City Council has the power to authorize lawsuits." The City of Phoenix Administrative Regulation (AR) 2.16 specifically states: "It is the public policy of the City, reflected in this AR, that...Employees not engage in activities that are inconsistent, incompatible, in conflict with, or are harmful to their duties as City employees."

"Chief Harris had no business sticking his nose in the middle of the federal government's lawsuit against the State of Arizona. The City of Phoenix adopted a position of neutrality regarding the litigation. And as a City employee, Police Chief Harris was required to stay out of it. The City of Phoenix has an obligation to shed light on Chief Harris' declaration and it can start by releasing these records," stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

In October 2009, Judicial Watch filed a taxpayer lawsuit against the Phoenix Police Pension Board, its five members, and City of Phoenix Chief of Police Harris to stop the illegal payment of pension benefits to Chief Harris valued at approximately $90,000 per year.

Judicial Watch's Arizona counsel is Todd Feltus of the firm Kercsmar & Feltus PLLC.

Statement by Governor Jan Brewer Comments Regarding Federal Border Security Efforts

"Part of my rationale for signing S.B. 1070 was to get the federal government to do its job and secure the border. Despite the mantra by the Obama administration that the border is 'as secure as ever,' in Arizona both Republicans and Democrats recognize they have failed. Their failure to date is borne out by today's announcement of more federal resources. While the announcement of more resources is welcomed, it does not appear to be enough, or tied to a strategy to comprehensively defeat the increasingly violent drug and alien smuggling cartels that operate in Arizona on a daily basis. We need the implementation of a federal plan to achieve victory over these brutal cartels and the porous nature of our open border."

Governor Jan Brewer
July 19, 2010

Hispanic State Legislators Condemn Arizona Bill SB 1070

/PRNewswire/ -- National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) joins the national community in calling on Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, to veto a piece of Arizona legislation that is illegal, wasteful of state resources and in direct violation of American values and the Constitution. In a letter to Governor Brewer, NHCSL President, Iris Y. Martinez (IL.), wrote,

We stand firmly in calling for a veto of SB 1070. The bill is legally flawed in its encroachment upon Constitutionally-established federal immigration enforcement activities, and endangers all Arizonans by diminishing common notions of fair, legal law enforcement.

"This bill smacks of a poorly-motivated attempt to codify racial and ethnic profiling and harassment into law," wrote Senator Martinez.

NHCSL calls upon the Governor to join the national community in working to identify comprehensive solutions to legally address the influx in undocumented immigrants - by working within the confines of the Constitution and cooperating with community leaders and the federal government in the absence of Congressional action on comprehensive immigration reform.

SB 1070 is yet another example of the dire need for comprehensive federal immigration reform. A federal law is needed to enhance border security, require employers to enforce immigration laws and level the playing field for law-abiding employers and workers by creating a pathway to citizenship, and treating immigrants humanely.

CDA: Obama Should End the Cuba Travel Ban and Stop Wasting U.S. Funds on Regime Change Effort

/PRNewswire/ -- Sarah Stephens, executive director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, issued the following statement about the Foreign Aid budget request for 2011 which proposes $20 million in wasteful spending on regime change programs for Cuba:

"Unless it's okay for the United States government to waste money on foreign aid programs that don't work, the Obama administration should remove the $20 million in spending it has proposed on 'regime change' on Cuba.

"Many activities funded by this program are illegal in Cuba, would certainly be illegal if Cuba conducted them in our country, and they have long histories of wasteful spending in the U.S. and hurting the intended beneficiaries in Cuba. Activities funded by this program recently landed a U.S. contractor in a Cuban prison. If you ever wanted to find a wasteful and counter-productive foreign aid program, this is it.

"The paradox is this: not one of these wasteful programs can hold a candle to the one policy change that would pour American information and ideas into Cuba, and bring both countries together - namely, ending the travel ban that stops all Americans from visiting the island and engaging the Cuban people, a 'program' which would cost the taxpayers nothing."

The Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA) is devoted to changing U.S. policy toward the countries of the Americas by basing our relations on mutual respect, fostering dialogue with those governments and movements with which U.S. policy is at odds, and recognizing positive trends in democracy and governance. For more information about CDA, visit our website.

CDA's report, "9 Ways for US to Talk to Cuba and for Cuba to Talk to US," published last year, recommended ending counter-productive 'regime change' programs and relying instead on policies of engagement to advance America's interests and lead to normal relations between the U.S. and Cuba.

-----
www.politicalpotluck.com
Political News You Can Use

President's Focus on Putting Americans Back to Work Missing Key Element, Says FAIR

/PRNewswire/ -- In last night's State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out his plans for putting millions of unemployed Americans back to work. With some 25 million Americans either out of work or involuntarily working part-time, President Obama made creating new jobs his most important domestic priority in 2010.

However, while the president talked at length about his plans to create new jobs, he pointedly omitted mention of some 8 million existing U.S. jobs that are currently unavailable to American workers. Those jobs are held by illegal aliens. Moreover, during his first year in office, President Obama has dramatically scaled back efforts to enforce laws against illegal aliens working in the U.S. by curtailing immigration enforcement in the workplace.

"As President Obama said in his address to the nation, millions of American families are hurting and cannot wait for relief," noted Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). "Under the best case scenario, the programs the president proposed would take months to result in the creation of new jobs and even then, the number of jobs would fall far short of those needed by out of work Americans. The jobs currently held by illegal aliens already exist. These jobs could be immediately transferred to American workers if the administration were to vigorously enforce laws against employers who hire illegal aliens and remove those workers from the country. Before the administration abandoned worksite enforcement, we saw countless examples of American workers eager to fill jobs vacated by illegal aliens."

Enforcing laws against illegal aliens in the workplace will not entirely solve the unemployment crisis in America, but freeing up millions of jobs would help many Americans find jobs and increase wages, contends FAIR. If even half the jobs now held by illegal aliens were filled by American workers, it would exceed the number of jobs created or saved by the $787 billion American Relief and Recovery Act, at a fraction of the cost.

"Over the next few months, President Obama and the congressional leadership will have the opportunity to demonstrate to the American people what their priorities really are. Will they take on the special interests that place illegal aliens ahead of all other concerns, or will they act decisively to make millions of jobs available to the 'men and women who wake up with the anguish of not knowing where their next paycheck will come from?'" Stein asked.

-----
www.politicalpotluck.com
Political News You Can Use

Health Care Provisions Still Soft on Illegal Aliens

/PRNewswire/ -- Assurances that the two health-care reform bills would not benefit illegal aliens are not accurate. A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies examines in detail the immigration-related provisions of both the House-passed HR 3962 and the bill now being debated in the Senate, HR 3590. The report concludes that the bills, in their current form, would indeed give illegal aliens access to taxpayer-funded health care well beyond emergency medical treatment.

The report, "Immigration-Related Provisions of Senate and House Health Reform Bills," is authored by CIS Fellow James R. Edwards, Jr. It is online at http://cis.org/immigration-related-health-provisions.

Key findings include:

-- HR 3962 ensures illegal alien access to the exchange and public
option. HR 3590 states illegal immigrants are excluded from these.
-- Both bills ostensibly bar illegal aliens from receiving the premium
subsidy, and both bills use some form of eligibility verification for
the subsidy.
-- Both bills expand Medicaid eligibility. Both bills lack verification
requirements based on citizenship or immigrant status. Both contain
serious loopholes to enroll illegal aliens easily into Medicaid. HR
3962 automatically covers anchor babies.
-- The eligibility verification process in each bill falls woefully short
of protecting taxpayer liability to cover or subsidize people living
unlawfully in the United States. Both the House and Senate bills'
verification processes will encourage large-scale fraud and abuse.
-- The Senate bill exempts illegal aliens from the mandate that everyone
have health insurance or else face a tax penalty. This perverse
exemption treats illegal aliens better than the bill treats American
citizens.


The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States.

-----
www.politicalpotluck.com
Political News You Can Use

Obama's Defense of Gay Discharges Contradicted by Use of Signing Statements

/PRNewswire/ -- President Barack Obama's use of signing statements -- a presidential authorization to ignore portions of Congressional law -- is being criticized by scholars who study gay rights for directly contradicting his defense of ongoing gay troop discharges. The President has refused to intervene to stop the firing of gay troops, citing the rationale that the White House should not be "simply ignoring a Congressional law." Last month the President told Anderson Cooper of CNN that "it's not appropriate for the executive branch simply to say, 'we will not enforce a law.'"

But yesterday's New York Times reports that the President has used signing statements five times to challenge nineteen provisions of federal statute, including a law restricting the use of U.S. troops in United Nations commands. According to Dr. Aaron Belkin, Director of the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the President's use of signing statements to ignore provisions of standing law is a far more flagrant assertion of executive authority than would be an executive order halting gay discharges. "Contrary to what some have stated," said Belkin, "using executive power to suspend the gay ban is not questionable or even controversial among major legal scholars. It is a power explicitly granted to the President by Congress under the 'stop-loss' statute." By contrast, Belkin said, signing statements are a controversial use of executive authority that many, such as the American Bar Association, have called unconstitutional for usurping Congressional authority.

Diane Mazur, Professor of Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, agreed. "There's a total inconsistency to the logic here," said Mazur, who is an affiliated scholar at the Palm Center. "How can you exercise questionable executive authority with a signing statement while declaring that using a Congressionally-granted power to let gays serve is illegal?"

The idea of ending the gay ban by executive order first gained momentum after the release in May of a Palm Center study showing that the president has the authority to suspend "don't ask, don't tell" under a Congressional "stop-loss" statute (10 U.S.C. Section 12305). Since then, gay groups and politicos have debated the political merits of taking such action, but no one has shown the step would be illegal.

-----
www.politicalpotluck.com
Political News You Can Use