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WILKES-BARRE — Following a meeting Tuesday night with President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta said he will now vote for the American Health Care Act.
Barletta said they discussed his concerns that illegal immigrants would receive tax credits under the GOP health overhaul. The Republican from Hazleton said just two days ago he would vote against the bill unless his issues were addressed.
“President Trump and Speaker Ryan agreed with me last night that this is wrong and must be fixed,” Barletta said. “The president gave his full support to legislation I will introduce to deny health care tax credits to illegal immigrants, and the speaker promised to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote.”
As long as his bill will receive full consideration next month, Barletta said he will vote for the AHCA.
One of Trump’s earliest and staunchest supporters, Barletta’s break with the president on health care — while now apparently smoothed over — marked the second time in recent days the congressman expressed opposition to White House plans. He also criticized the president’s first budget, which called for the elimination of federal funds that support the SHINE afterschool program. Barletta has championed the benefits of SHINE in Luzerne County.
‘Trust but Verify’
In a telephone interview Wednesday, Barletta said Trump was unaware of the provisions that would allow illegal immigrants to receive tax credits. He said he told Trump that such immigrants should not receive tax credits and the president agreed.
“I told President Trump, the best way to stop illegal immigration is to stop giving them those tax credits,” Barletta said.
Barletta said he had met with Ryan several times Tuesday, and Ryan arranged the private meeting with Trump.
Barletta said his legislation has not yet been named, but he said he could call it “Trust but Verify.” He said the bill would require all Social Security numbers to be verified before anyone receives a tax credit. He said tax credits are for people who are not receiving any health insurance through an employer-sponsored plan or Medicare or other government-sponsored program.
He said Speaker Ryan committed to bringing his bill to the House floor in late April.
“I asked for President Trump’s support, and he gave it,” Barletta said. “The president said he loves my bill, and he said we should already be doing it. He told Speaker Ryan how he felt.”
A Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs report issued last year revealed that, under Obamacare, a half million illegal immigrants received $750 million in health care subsidies.
Gov. Wolf against it
As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to advance the AHCA toward final passage, Gov. Tom Wolf is reiterating his concern about its impact on Pennsylvania. He said the bill will strip access to health care coverage for far too many residents and shift billions in costs to state taxpayers and hospitals.
“We must remove ourselves from the partisan politics that drive the health care debate today and consider how this proposal will impact people’s lives,” Wolf said. “Our rough estimate is that the changes to Medicaid and the per-capita proposal put forward in this act will cost Pennsylvania somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.5 to $3 billion each year. These costs, when considered in conjunction with our current $3 billion structural deficit, are far from inconsequential.”
Wolf said the AHCA would also have wide-ranging negative impacts on Pennsylvania’s economy by increasing costs for older and vulnerable residents and sharply increasing the amount of uncompensated care provided by already struggling small and rural hospitals.
Wolf also believes Pennsylvania’s uninsured rate, currently at its lowest ever at 6.4 percent, will skyrocket under the new proposal.
Barletta announces new
communications staffers
Barletta announced Wednesday two new additions to his team:
• Jon Anzur has been named communications director.
• Katherine Sears has joined the office as press assistant.
“These are important times facing our nation and Pennsylvania’s 11th District,” Barletta said. “We are better positioned now than ever to achieve positive results for the American people, and I am confident that Jon and Katherine will help me in those efforts.”
A native of Mechanicsburg, Anzur previously worked in Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s Office of Public Liaison and as a member of the Pennsylvania House Republican Communications Department.
Sears, who holds an advanced degree in political communications from American University, formerly managed international student programs for her Alma mater.
Both Anzur and Sears will be based in Barletta’s Washington, DC office and can be reached at (202) 225-6511.
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