The Senate approved a bill yesterday aimed at preventing illegal immigrants in Pennsylvania from getting public benefits such as unemployment compensation, welfare and Medicaid.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati sponsored the bill that passed by a vote of 41-9.

The bill would require anyone applying for public benefits to provide identification proving they are legal residents and require them to sign an affidavit stating they are a U.S. citizen. The affidavit would be verified through a program operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The bill would exempt children younger than 18, anyone eligible for Medicare and anyone receiving Supplemental Security Income or Social Security disability income.

Lebanon County Sen. Mike Folmer and all other Republican senators voted for the bill. The nine senators opposing it were Democrats from the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas.

The bill now moves to the House, and its chances of becoming law do not appear good.

Gov. Ed Rendell opposes the bill, saying it’s unnecessary and would create too many hoops for needy people to jump through when they apply for benefits.

Scarnati said his bill is especially needed now with the economy in crisis, because legal citizens who are struggling should not have their tax dollars tapped by illegal immigrants. He cited estimates that Pennsylvania has 100,000 illegal immigrants who have cost the state $285 million.

A Scarnati spokesman said a recent state audit shows why the bill is needed, but Rendell’s office disputed the audit’s significance.

Scarnati spokesman Casey Long cited the audit of the Department of Public Welfare that revealed that 2 percent of Medicaid recipients did not verify their citizenship or identity.

“So you’re talking about a pretty large group right there,” Long said.

Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo said state officials checked on the audit findings and found that virtually all of the questionable Medicaid recipients were eligible.

Rendell opposes the bill because policies are already in place to protect against fraud, and it would cost millions of dollars to implement new checks, Ardo said.

Other public benefits the bill would affect are college grants and loans, state tuition rates and public housing.

Scarnati pushed a similar bill last term that cleared the Senate but languished in the House.


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