Protect American Values Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2482 To prohibit the use of Federal funds to carry out the final rule of the Department of Homeland Security entitled ‘‘Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds’’. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BENNET, Ms. WARREN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. SAND- ERS, Mr. CASEY, Mr. REED, Mr. UDALL, Mr. KAINE, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. COONS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. HEINRICH, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To prohibit the use of Federal funds to carry out the final rule of the Department of Homeland Security entitled ‘‘Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds’’. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect American Val- 4 ues Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Sep 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2482.IS S2482 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2482 IS SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 It is the sense of Congress that— 2 (1) immigrants and their families are a core 3 part of our Nation; 4 (2) the health and safety of immigrants is crit- 5 ical to the health and safety of our communities; 6 (3) Federal, State, and local assistance pro- 7 grams promote self-sufficiency by ensuring that fam- 8 ilies, including immigrant and mixed-status families, 9 maintain their health, strength, and stability to en- 10 able them to continue contributing to the Nation’s 11 social and economic life; 12 (4) the final rule of the Department of Home- 13 land Security entitled ‘‘Inadmissibility on Public 14 Charge Grounds’’, published August 14, 2019, is a 15 sweeping and dangerous policy that will impede ac- 16 cess to essential food, medical care, housing, and 17 other critical forms of assistance for many families, 18 including those not directly subject to the rule due 19 to its widespread chilling effect; 20 (5) this rule will harm families and children, in- 21 cluding United States citizens as the Department of 22 Homeland Security’s own assessment of the impacts 23 of the rule acknowledge that the rule— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Sep 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2482.IS S2482 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2482 IS (A) ‘‘may decrease disposable income and 1 increase the poverty of certain families and chil- 2 dren, including U.S. citizen children’’; and 3 (B) could lead to ‘‘[a]dverse health ef- 4 fects’’, ‘‘[a]dditional medical expenses due to 5 delayed health care treatment’’, ‘‘[i]ncreased 6 disability insurance claims’’, and ‘‘[p]otential 7 lost productivity’’; 8 (6) this rule will damage State and local econo- 9 mies, while burdening health care and other service 10 providers, as the Department of Homeland Secu- 11 rity’s own assessment of the impacts of the rule rec- 12 ognizes that the rule may ‘‘result in reduced reve- 13 nues for healthcare providers’’, ‘‘companies that 14 manufacture medical supplies or pharmaceuticals’’, 15 ‘‘grocery retailers’’, ‘‘agricultural producers’’, and 16 ‘‘landlords participating in Federally funded housing 17 programs’’; and 18 (7) this rule circumvents Congress and reverses 19 100 years of United States law and policy by re- 20 stricting immigration and decreasing the diversity of 21 our Nation through factors such as family size, fi- 22 nancial status, education and skills, and employ- 23 ability and chilling access to services for which im- 24 migrants and their citizen family members are eligi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Sep 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2482.IS S2482 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2482 IS ble, in a manner not authorized or contemplated by 1 Congress. 2 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS. 3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Fed- 4 eral funds appropriated or otherwise made available for 5 any fiscal year may be used to implement, administer, en- 6 force, or carry out the final rule of the Department of 7 Homeland Security entitled ‘‘Inadmissibility on Public 8 Charge Grounds’’, published August 14, 2019. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Sep 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2482.IS S2482 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS