For Immediate Release March 31, 2009                                       

Contact:          Michael Froehlich, Community Legal Services, 215-779-4166

                        Marissa Harris, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry, 717-545-3500

PA Senate makes it more difficult to apply for critical services and benefits

SB 9 to cost millions while PA struggles in tough economy

Harrisburg, PA – With Pennsylvania struggling with a deepening recession, the Pennsylvania Senate today passed a bill that would make it more difficult to apply for Unemployment Compensation (UC), adultBasic medical insurance, property tax and rent rebates, and other critical public services and benefits.  Senate Bill 9, sponsored by Senator Joseph Scarnati, would require U.S. citizens and lawfully residing immigrants to present certain types of government-issued identification such as a driver’s license or passport when they request a number of services and benefits.  Currently, applicants may verify their identification and eligibility in several different ways if they lack government-issued identification.

“Under Senate Bill 9, up to 800,000 Pennsylvania residents will be found ineligible for the most basic safety-net benefits because they cannot supply the needed ID,” said Michael Froehlich, an attorney with Community Legal Services.  “And these days, it’s more difficult and time-consuming than ever to obtain government-issued ID.”

The Rendell Administration has estimated that the bill would cost $21.6 million to implement as the Commonwealth would be forced to hire hundreds of new employees to verify government-issued IDs by hand.  Much of this cost would come from adapting the Unemployment Compensation system, which currently accepts application by telephone or on-line and has no system in place for applicants to submit ID documents.

The bill’s supporters say that Senate Bill 9 is intended to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving cash assistance.  Yet these immigrants are already ineligible for all the benefits covered by this bill and no evidence was offered that immigrants receive any benefits for which they are not eligible.

“There are serious concerns with Senate Bill 9,” said Marissa Harris, Advocacy Developer for the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania.  “This bill simply perpetuates anti-immigrant myths and inflames this issue while making it more difficult for needy Pennsylvania families to obtain the services they need in this troubled economy.”

Experience has shown that bills such as Senate Bill 9 cost far more than anticipated.  For example, for every $100 spent by federal taxpayers to implement new rules requiring Medicaid applicants to submit proof of citizenship, only 14 cents in savings could be documented.

“It’s a shame that Pennsylvania senators have chosen to waste millions of dollars on this bill rather than address the economy, repair our bridges, or solve our health care crisis,” said Froehlich.

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