The Federation for Ameican Immigration Reform
Washington, DC -- The estimate by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), released Friday, that the Senate-passed guest worker amnesty bill (S. 2611) would cost the country a net amount of $127 billion over the next ten years is misleading and grossly underestimates the real fiscal impact, contends the Federation from American Immigration Reform (FAIR). According to FAIR, the CBO estimate includes only the fiscal impact at the federal level, but ignores the much greater impact S. 2611 would have on state and local governments.
An estimate of the fiscal impact at the local level by FAIR identifies a cost of $70 billion per year by 2020, primarily for education and health care. The $70 billion annual price tag does not include a number of other likely cost increases for programs such as assisted housing and other social welfare programs.
“The formidable cost estimate by the CBO of the Senate amnesty bill is only the tip of the iceberg,” commented FAIR president Dan Stein. “The full impact of this disastrous legislation won’t begin to be felt for another decade. Once millions of illegal aliens become eligible for all government programs, benefits and services, the fiscal impact on local governments are likely to be catastrophic.”
Posted by tyne at August 26, 2006