The Federation For American Immigration Reform

Excerpt:

"Last week, the latest House health care bill (H.R. 3962) raised a number of concerns over the direction the bill was taking with respect to immigration policy. Earlier this summer, FAIR had raised concerns over the language of the bill with respect to Section 342(d), which would waive the current 5-year waiting period before legal aliens can access the affordability credits under the bill. (See FAIR's Cost Analysis). FAIR also led the national debate over the loopholes that existed in the earlier House bill, H.R. 3200, that would allow illegal aliens to access the benefits under the bill. (See FAIR's Legislative Analysis of H.R. 3200 and FAIR's Legislative Update, August 17, 2009).

As detailed in a new analysis by FAIR, the latest House bill contains many of the same problems as the earlier bill. (FAIR's Legislative Analysis of H.R. 3962). Section 342(d) of the new House health care bill contains identical language to the earlier bill and waives the 5-year waiting period. In addition, FAIR's new analysis explains how the verification process in the new bill is so flawed that illegal aliens will still be able to fraudulently claim benefits under the bill."

Read more of this week's Legislative Update.

In response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 to establish uniform security requirements for State-issued drivers' licenses and identification cards. On June 15, 2009, Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) introduced legislation (S. 1261) entitled "Providing for Additional Security in States' Identification Act of 2009" (PASS ID). PASS ID will gut the security provisions of REAL ID and re-establish many of the loopholes that allowed the 9/11 hijackers to carry out the attack on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. This document explains some of the key differences between REAL ID and PASS ID.

Read the rest of the report: Comparing REAL ID and PASS ID

Below is an excerpt from this new FAIR report:

"After food and water, energy is perhaps the most basic of all human needs. We use it to heat our homes, grow and prepare food, transport people and goods, refine ores into metals, pump water, and manufacture goods. Americans are frequently accused of being excessive energy users, but among nations there exists a strong correlation between per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and energy consumption. One of the underpinnings of the standard of living enjoyed by Americans has been a reliable and relatively low-cost supply of energy.

As a result of the 1997 Kyoto U.N. Climate Change Treaty, considerable public attention has been focused on the issue of energy consumption. The U.S. signed, but has not ratified, this treaty that calls for the U.S. to reduce greenhouse emissions by seven percent below the level in 1990.1 Limiting carbon dioxide emissions - the main greenhouse gas - Is particularly onerous on the U.S. because of its population growth and high per capita energy consumption. While European countries accepted a higher level of reductions (8%), they have relatively stable or, in several cases, declining populations. A look at the relationship between population growth and energy consumption/emissions is instructive."

Immigration, Energy, and the Environment