'You Lie!' -- Joe Wilson Was Right

On Sept. 9, 2009, President Barack Obama delivered a major address on the subject of his health care reform bill, which at that time had not passed Congress. The president declared in that speech, delivered before a joint session of Congress and entire nation on television, that ObamaCare would not apply to illegal aliens. Specifically, he said:

There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms — the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: You lie! (Boos.)

The audience member was Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina. Here’s video of the moment.

Wilson’s outburst stirred condemnation from the Democratmedialeft but didn’t hurt him: He raised a load of campaign cash while the left denigrated him, and he became an instant national figure and hero here on the Right. And he was re-elected.

And it turns out that Wilson was right all along. The president was lying.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Tuesday that it has awarded $28.8 million to 67 community health centers with funds from the Obamacare health reform law.

Of that $28.8 million, “approximately $8.5 million will be used by 25 New Access Point awardees to target services to migrant and seasonal farm workers,” Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Spokeswoman Judy Andrews told CNSNews.com. HRSA is a part of HHS.

Andrews said that grant recipients will not check the immigration status of people seeking services.

“Health centers do not, as a matter of routine practice, ask about or collect data on citizenship or other matters not related to the treatment needs of the patients seeking health services at the center,” Andrews said.

Further, the grant recipients are required to serve “all residents” who walk through their doors.

Points of emphasis added. There are between 12 and 20 million illegal aliens in the United States. The fact that immigration status will not be checked at these health centers means illegal aliens will be treated, at American taxpayer expense, and in contradiction to what President Obama said. He lied in the service of passing a bill that a majority opposed and which is helping sink the US economy.