Texas Attorney General Cornyn Says Undocumented Immigrants Should Receive Government-Funded Care
Going against an opinion he issued as Texas Attorney General last year, Republican Senate candidate John Cornyn on Aug. 22 said he is in favor of government-funded non-emergency care for undocumented immigrants, the AP/Dallas Morning News reports. Speaking at South Central Houston Community Health Care Clinic, the only clinic in Harris County, Texas, that uses federal funds to provide regular care for undocumented immigrants, Cornyn said, "It's only humane and more cost-effective to provide preven[tive] care in clinics like this than it would be to just have them clog emergency rooms after they've gotten a lot sicker and a lot more expensive to treat." Cornyn said he supports a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) which would allow hospital districts to use extra funds to provide care to undocumented immigrants (AP/Dallas Morning News, 8/23). In July 2001, Cornyn issued an opinion that said that public hospitals in Texas may not provide free or discounted preventive care to undocumented immigrants. Cornyn said that the "only legal access" undocumented immigrants have to free or discounted treatment is in emergency rooms, which are required by federal law to screen patients before asking about insurance or immigration status (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 7/13/01). Cornyn said yesterday there is no "discrepancy" between his ruling as Texas attorney general and his stance as a candidate because "[his] job as attorney general is to say what the law is." Cornyn added, "The only way the state could pay for preven[tive] health care for undocumented immigrants is to pass a specific state law ... [and] they haven't done that. But now I'm running for a job as a lawmaker, and what I'm saying is that's bad policy, and that needs to be changed." Cornyn's opponent in the race for the Senate seat, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk (D), said, "It shouldn't take an election for [Cornyn] to understand how wrong-headed he was" (AP/Dallas Morning News, 8/23).
Arkansas Race
In other Senate election news, NPR's "Morning Edition" on Aug. 23 reported on the race in Arkansas. In an interview in the segment, Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.) said "the big issue statewide" for Arkansas voters in the November elections is prescription drugs. "I don't think there is any doubt about that, because you're either affected yourself or your parents or grandparents are affected. It is a cloud that looms over the future of senior citizens," he said, adding, "That has been a huge part of the debate and it is something I hear all over the state, from retirement communities in the northwest to the poor seniors on Medicaid in the Delta" (Williams, "Morning Edition," NPR, 8/23). The full segment will be available in RealPlayer Audio online after noon ET.