Senate Dems block amendment to restore veteran benefits by closing illegal immigrant welfare loophole

Senate Republicans were unable to stop military pension cuts when Senate Democrats blocked a vote on an amendment to prevent the cuts by closing a welfare loophole for illegal immigrants Tuesday evening.

The two-year budget deal brokered by Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, would cut military pensions by $6 billion over ten years, leaving some Senate Republicans scrambling to stop the cuts.

“Removing this unbalanced treatment of our military retirees ought to be one of the key actions we should take before this legislation moves forward. In fact, greater savings than this can be achieved by passing a legislative fix recommended by the Inspector General of the U.S. Treasury that would stop the IRS from improperly providing tax credits to illegal aliens,” Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions said Monday, announcing his co-sponsorship of Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker’s amendment to restore the military retirement benefits Monday.


Additionally, the Alabama Republican offered his own amendment to restore the cuts by targeting a child tax credit loophole that illegal immigrants have used to unlawfully obtain welfare benefits.

"Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has moved forward with plans for a Chicago-only identification card specifically designed to ensure illegal aliens in the city can receive welfare benefits with minimal risk of repatriation.

The new program was unveiled at a Chicago City Council meeting on Wednesday, and it protects illegal aliens from federal oversight by not collecting any copies of identification documents presented when illegals apply for the identification card.

“Applicants bring in the documents to prove someone’s identity. They hand them over to specially trained individual who can review the documents and then hand them back … It’s going to capture just the name and the date of birth. It’s not going to capture an address,” a source close to those officials told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Emanuel, once President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff, has been one of the loudest voices decrying Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s efforts to cut off federal funding for sanctuary cities like Chicago that refuse to cooperate in the enforcement of immigration laws.

The “Municipal ID” plan is Emanuel’s latest bid to resist the effort of the Justice Department and remain what he has called a “welcoming city.” Emanuel’s new City Clerk Anna Valencia’s website describes the Municipal ID as “an optional, valid, government-issued ID that they can then use to access a range of services from both the private and public sectors. ”