FIRST ON FOX: Republicans are looking to stop welfare and other benefits from going to illegal immigrants paroled into the U.S. — and they are angling to pass it through the budget reconciliation process, bypassing the Senate's 60-vote legislative filibuster.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is introducing the "America First Act" on Wednesday, which would change the requirements outlined in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act to explicitly exclude people in the country illegally, including those granted asylum, those who are paroled into the country or people being withheld from deportation.
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These individuals would not be eligible to receive welfare benefits, including participation in programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or certain housing benefits.
The bill is also being introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas and Jodey Arrington, R-Texas.
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Many bills have met their doom in the Senate as a result of the legislative filibuster, which can block measures that fail to reach 60 votes on a cloture motion.
However, when a policy is passed through budget reconciliation, which Republicans are set to use in the new Congress to pass key priorities of President-elect Donald Trump, it can be advanced with just a simple majority.
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This is how Lee, Roy and Arrington are hoping to get their legislation over the finish line. The Utah senator is currently negotiating to have the policy included in the upcoming budget reconciliation package, where it would act as a "pay-for" for other items, such as border security.
Lee's office pointed to the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) July report on the "Effects of the Immigration Surge on the Federal Budget and the Economy." As the senator's team highlighted, the CBO revealed, "The immigration surge adds $0.3 trillion to outlays for federal mandatory programs and net spending for interest on the debt over the 2024–2034 period in CBO’s projections."
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The Republican bill would additionally remove eligibility of these outlined non-citizens for various educational, healthcare and housing benefits, disaster aid or tax credits.
The White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
