Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was asked to comment on the estimate that the amnesty he is involved in negotiating as one of the “Gang of 8” would add billions of dollars in costs to U.S. taxpayers. An estimate put out by the Republican staff of the Senate Budget Committee is that Rubio’s amnesty proposal could cost taxpayers as much as $40 billion in 2022 for Medicaid and Obamacare alone.
Commenting on the Senator’s behalf, spokesman Alex Conant replied, “Senator Rubio has been clear that he will only support legislation that prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving any federal benefits, and in our negotiations, the Democrats have gone along with that demand — even agreeing to a partial repeal of Obamacare to bar undocumented immigrants benefits.”
Nothing new there! Illegal aliens are already ineligible for federal benefits. But the question was about after those illegal aliens get legal status, i.e., amnesty. That issue was dodged, but it is a question that Rubio is going to have to answer eventually as long as he continues to support the Gang of 8’s approach.
Besides, the estimated $40 billion annual hit on the taxpayer is only the tip of the iceberg.