California stands to receive more than $1 billion from President
Obama’s budget plan to help cover healthcare for the poor and the cost
of jailing illegal immigrants.
The budget proposal includes $25 billion in additional Medicaid funds
for states, of which California is projected to receive $1.5 billion.
States received a funding boost in the economic stimulus bill that
Congress passed one year ago. Obama’s budget plan would extend the
funding through mid-2011.
The proposal also includes $330 million to help states pay for jailing
illegal immigrants. The money has long been a priority for California
officials, who argue that local and state taxpayers should not have to
bear the burden of Washington’s failure to control U.S. borders.
California’s expected $90-million share would represent a fraction of
the nearly $1 billion the state probably will spend this year on
incarcerating illegal immigrants.
— Richard Simon in Washington
Photo: L.A. County Jail. L.A. Times file