Smith, Comer Call for Review of New York’s Funding for Illegal Immigrants Following Billions in Federal Bailout Money to the State
WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Budget Committee Republican Leader Jason Smith (MO-08) and House Oversight and Reform Committee Republican Leader James Comer (KY-01) sent a letter today to Gene Sperling – who was recently appointed by President Biden to provide oversight of the $1.9 trillion bailout bill enacted last month – regarding concerns that the State of New York may be funneling billions of federal dollars to illegal immigrants.The letter notes that the reportedly $2.1 billion sum to be included in a state fund for payments to illegal immigrants matches the additional federal dollars given to New York as part of the $1.9 trillion bailout bill after Washington Democrats instituted a change in the formula for how funds are distributed to the states.
“The $2.1 billion price tag of this fund is quite peculiar,” wrote House Budget Committee Republican Leader Smith and House Oversight and Reform Committee Republican Leader Comer. “The $1.9 trillion spending plan enacted last month allocated monetary relief to states using a new biased formula that resulted in New York, and other states run by Democrat officials, receiving disproportionately more aid than in previous coronavirus relief bills…Coincidentally, the amount of additional federal dollars New York appears to be receiving because of the change in the funding distribution formula is exactly the same as this new fund for illegal immigrants – $2.1 billion.”
In their letter, Smith and Comer also compare how the Washington Democrats’ $1.9 trillion bailout bill made it harder for states to provide tax relief to their citizens than to provide federal tax dollars to illegal immigrants.
“Unfortunately, the $1.9 trillion spending bill included language prohibiting states from using these funds to offset tax relief they might wish to provide their citizens. However, despite concerns raised by Congressional Republicans, it did not explicitly limit the potential use of American taxpayer dollars to prioritize illegal immigrants over American families. It now appears that New York is using its state budget, recently bolstered with billions in federal dollars, to funnel money to illegal immigrants.”
Read the full letter here.
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