Rep. Cody Maynard
The House on Thursday, Feb. 26, passed two bills to ensure taxpayer dollars benefit only American citizens and those in the country legally and not those here illegally. The measures are part of the state’s commitment to Safeguarding Eligibility, Compliance and Use of Resources Efficiently (SECURE) when administering state and federal assistance.
House Bill 4422 specifies Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients are American citizens. Applicants would be verified through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlements (SAVE) system.
House Bill 4423 is the same concept applied to Medicaid.
I am co-authoring both measures alongside the speaker of the House who spoke about the legislation on the House floor Thursday.
The speaker said the bills are not intended to target anyone but instead to protect American taxpayer dollars so that this assistance goes only to the American citizens and those in those in the country legally for whom it is intended.
This legislation makes clear that children who are eligible for these benefits continue to receive them. If a child’s parents are here illegally, however, they risk the consequences of breaking the law.
We cannot afford to pay for this type of assistance for those in our country illegally. Even for legal recipients, this type of help is intended to be temporary, not as lifelong support.
It’s been widely reported that big cuts are coming to the state in federal Medicaid matching dollars. Despite such warnings, state voters in 2020 amended the state’s Constitution to expand Medicaid, adding an estimated quarter of a million residents to the program. Now, roughly one in four Oklahomans are enrolled in the state’s SoonerCare program.
Also widely reported is our high rate of error in the handling of SNAP assistance. There are nearly 700,000 enrolled in SNAP. The state auditor said because of the state’s “embarrassingly high” error rates, the state could lose $235 million a year if we do not correct course. This risks putting strain on many other areas of government – schools, roads, childcare, to name a few.
A recent editorial in The Oklahoman characterized the situation as akin to watching a train wreck in slow motion.
The point was made Thursday that eventually you run out of other people’s money. Every Oklahoman is directly impacted by the expenditure of their tax dollars, and there are consequences to the state if those legally receiving these dollars must share them with those here illegally.
An argument was made that there is no evidence that undocumented people are receiving this assistance. If that were true, then no one would be harmed by the passage of these bills.
But the truth is, it’s reported that 61% of households headed by those in our country illegally use at least one welfare service and possibly more.
Our country is a country of laws. To continue to live in harmony and safety, we must uphold our laws. Breaking the law is not the way to improve your situation or that of your children.
These bills both passed on straight party lines with votes of 80 to 18.
My colleagues and I agree with our president that the first duty of American government is to protect American citizens. It is not unreasonable that when we are prioritizing the needs of those in our state that we put the needs of those here legally first.