New Federal Bill Seeks to Eliminate Healthcare Benefits to People on the Sex Offender Registry
U.S. Representative Greg Steube (of course he has to be from Florida), just issued a press release announcing a new bill to bar registrants from access to affordable or government healthcare programs.
The press release announces Rep. Steube’s introduction of the so-called CLEAN Act, which would bar anyone on a sex offense registry from receiving ACA premium tax credits or federally funded Medicaid. Framed as a measure to protect “taxpayer dollars,” the proposal treats access to basic health care as a moral reward rather than a public health necessity. The bill makes no distinction between offenses, age of the conviction, or whether the individual has long since completed their sentence and lived law-abidingly in the community.
The Florida Action Committee notes that denying health coverage does nothing to enhance public safety – it’s just more punishment. It risks destabilizing people who are already among the most heavily regulated populations in the country. Cutting off access to medical care — including mental health treatment is more costly to taxpayers in the long run and jeopardizes public safety! The proposal appears less focused on evidence-based safety outcomes and more about punishment, using a politically unpopular group as a convenient target for exclusion from programs designed to meet basic human needs.
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This has a national scope and requires a national response from those who are aligned with us. Time to start connecting with our networks people!
FAC is ready and every other organization has an open invitation to reach out and coordinate. This SHOULD be a national effort.
ACSOL is all over it as seen on their website. Like the national office post something too for the state orgs.
What is the common thread lately? Republicans. Sorry to say. I have been saying that the party most leaning towards justice reform would be the one that would be least worst. The party leaning toward justice reform was not the Republican party and why I knew it would be worse if they got elected. Heaven help us for these next three (hopefully) years.
It has been well-established that Persons Forced to Register are far more likely to be unemployed and thus dependent on welfare to survive. We will just end up breaking the emergency room system as that is where we go when we have no health insurance at all.
Ok everyone. Deep Breath and Hang on. It’s hard to read these things and not get upset and want to fight right away. But let’s not get distracted from the more immediate winnable issues that face us.
Consider the following:
1. This bill does not effect Medicare. Why? Because you paid into the system for your entire work life. It is an entitlement, not one that can be retroactively taken away.
2. Over 10,000 (ten thousand) bills were filed in this Congress. 75 passed and became law. That’s it.
2. There is no Senate companion bill, making it more unlikely for this bill to get through in at least this Congress.
3. Congress will have fewer days in session coming up because of the November elections. It is doubtful a bill like this can get through all of the hearings and votes in both the House and Senate in that short amount of time.
4. The best way to make a difference here is to find a way to get this guy out of office. Talk to family, friends etc and help get out the vote. You can give rides to your friends and relatives to the polls. Also consider that the minority party has a much tougher time getting bills passed. Even if this guy is in a super red district or if he’s not your rep., work hard to get the opposition party back in power come November.
Stay focused. We and our families have a lot more power than you or they realize.
The really weird part is this lawmaker looks like the cowboy from YMCA.
My counter.
1. Medicaid pays the $200/mo premiums for those also collecting regular social security or SSDI benefits.
2. Maybe so but bills targeting Registered Persons tend to get traction. The Adam Walsh Act sat dormant for a year after it was introduced then fast tracked. It took nearly a decade to get International Megan’s Law passed but it did. Back in 2010, a year in which the Dems had control of everything, Congressed passed 3 bills banning Registrants from FHA loans, SBA small business loans, and Unemployment Compensation, and one of those, the SBA loan bans, also passed the Senate and is now law. Republicans tend to be more gung-ho on the “law and order” stuff, with certain exceptions, if you catch my drift.
Also 2. Lack of a companion bill in the Senate is no guarantee it won’t gain traction. Besides, it’s only been three days, someone could, in near fture, make their own bill.
3. Wasn’t 2006 a midterm year? Once the AWA was picked up it was fast-trcked using suspension of the rules.
4. While I agree we’d like to see Steube primaried, we STILL have to take the time to compose a strategy in the event this bill eventually moves. It is foolhardy to waste time not preparing for a potential disaster. Ever tried buying supplies AFTER a hurricane?
So my 36 year old son can’t get a job because he is on the registry, after serving his 8 year sentence in prison, he comes out, gets three months worth of food stamps, then they take that away from him because he’s not working, now they want to take the health care away!! I don’t understand this country, why? Why can’t this country help its citizens?
This is sad, so sad.
Now little Timmy down the street will be much safer since his neighborhood sex offender doesn’t have medicaid 😂 what a clown world we live in. It’s unbelievable 🤦