[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2848 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2848

    To provide for Federal custody and Federal payment of costs of 
     emergency ambulance and medical services for aliens illegally 
                 attempting to enter the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 2003

  Mr. Filner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 
    and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for Federal custody and Federal payment of costs of 
     emergency ambulance and medical services for aliens illegally 
                 attempting to enter the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pay for All Your Undocumented 
Procedures (PAY UP!) Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. PROVIDING FOR FEDERAL CUSTODY AND FEDERAL PAYMENT OF COSTS OF 
              EMERGENCY AMBULANCE AND MEDICAL SERVICES FOR ALIENS 
              ILLEGALLY ATTEMPTING TO ENTER THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) In General.--In the case described in subsection (b)--
            (1) the border patrol officer or other Federal immigration 
        offical who sought or provided assistance to the alien, or such 
        other officer or official as the Secretary of Homeland Security 
        may designate, shall provide (to the extent practicable) for 
        securing custody of the alien before the alien departs from the 
        medical facility to which the alien is brought for emergency 
        services; and
            (2) any such emergency services provided shall be treated 
        as if such services had been provided to the alien while under 
        the custody of such an officer and the provider of the 
        ambulance or other emergency services shall be entitled to 
        receive from the Secretary of Health and Human Services, from 
        amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, appropriate 
        reimbursement for the costs of such services, but only to the 
        extent that such costs are not otherwise reimbursed through any 
        Federal program and cannot be recovered from the alien or 
        another person.
Paragraph (2) of this subsection constitutes budget authority in 
advance of appropriations Acts and represents the obligation of the 
Federal Government to provide for the payment of amounts provided under 
such paragraph.
    (b) Case of Injured Alien Described.--A case described in this 
subsection is the case of an alien injured while crossing a land or sea 
border of United States without inspection or at any time or place 
other than as designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security, if a 
border patrol officer or other Federal immigration official provides 
assistance in any form, directly or indirectly, in seeking or obtaining 
emergency medical assistance, including contacting an ambulance service 
for the transport of the alien to an appropriate medical facility for 
the receipt of emergency services.
                                 <all>