June 19, 2013
WASHINGTON – Kathy Ko Chin, president and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), issued a statement reacting to the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) economic report on the Senate immigration bill (S. 744), currently pending on the Senate floor:
“The CBO report confirms what the data and advocates from across the aisle have consistently said: immigration reform is a net positive for the nation, in terms of economic and human contribution.
Immigration reform is a fiscal win, and will save an estimated $197 billion dollars over a 10-year period. The CBO report conclusively shows—and is backed up by considerable existing data—that immigrants boost the nation’s economy, will see higher wages over time and contribute heavily to our tax base.
While immigration hardliners will undoubtedly point to estimated increases in federal spending for health and safety-net programs, they would be wise to remember that any additional costs are offset by the dollars that immigrants pump into our economy and the long term cost savings of having healthy families and a healthy workforce. Looking at all of the fiscal data as a whole—from the millions that immigrants put into Social Security and Medicare, the population’s lower health costs and higher levels of productivity—the CBO’s report is confirmation that immigrants contribute, not take, from our system, and that passing commonsense immigration reform will spur economic growth. ”