UPDATE – The Minnesota House and Senate pass a bill to remove undocumented adults from taxpayer funded MinnesotaCare health care.
The move was agreed to in budget negotiations between Governor Tim Walz and legislative leaders before the special session began.
The bill was approved in the Senate by four DFLers: State Senator Rob Kupec of Moorhead. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy of St. Paul, Senate Pro Tempore Ann Rest of New Hope, and Senator Grant Hauschild of Hermantown.
Kupec did not speak during floor debate, but has agreed to do an interview with Flag Family News.
The bill now heads to Walz’s desk.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House voted to remove undocumented adult immigrants from being eligible for taxpayer-funded MinnesotaCare during its special session.
In a 68 to 65 vote that fell mostly along party lines, Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park was the only DFLer voting in favor of the legislation.
The state Senate is expected to follow suit.
During the past legislative session, the DFL-controlled legislature approved program eligibility for illegal adult immigrants.
But during subsequent budget negotiations between Governor Tim Walz and legislative leaders, Republicans agreed to approving a budget, so long as non-U.S. citizens were removed from the state-subsidized health care plan.
Children will still be covered under the plan.
DFL State Representative Jamie Long of Minneapolis says many Minnesotans like a woman he knows who is undocumented and has two children who are American citizens are worried.
“She has chronic pain and high blood pressure. Her body is tired. MinnesotaCare is the only way she’s getting the care she needs to keep going. This bill is cruel. It’s inhuman. It’ll cost real, human, Minnesotan lives,” Long said during debate.
Republicans say Minnesotans shouldn’t have to pay for non-citizens’ health care.
“Love your neighbor as yourself. We’ve heard that quite often. I agree with that 100 percent. You personally love your neighbors, but it’s not the government’s job,” Republican State Representative Jeff Backer of Browns Valley said on the House floor.
In the Senate, several bills including ones on higher education, energy, environment and natural resources and jobs and labor have passed.
Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson of East Grand Forks says he’s concerned many of these bills were agreed to behind closed doors.
Minnesotans, they deserve a full day of debate. They deserve to look at the bills and see what’s in them. We haven’t seen them much in the last couple of weeks. They’ve been in their conference committees and committees themselves,” Johnson explained.
Lawmakers have until 7:00 Tuesday morning to finish. If a budget isn’t passed by July, the state could see a government shutdown.
