They Just Can't Stop In Arizona, Can They?

More lovely news from Arizona:

Arizona is at the center of the national debate on immigration, and state legislators are drawing more fire this week for a proposal that would require hospital workers to check whether patients are in the country illegally.

The first of its kind in the country, the proposal would require hospital personnel to report illegal immigrants to federal officials. Emergency patients would be allowed to receive care before their immigration status is checked, but critics say the measure is cruel to immigrants who might avoid hospitals for fear of being deported.

"It's in the federal law that we are required to take emergencies and stabilize them. Nobody is going to turn these folks down, we agree with that," says Mesa Republican and Senate President Russell Pearce, who was also the primary sponsor of the controversial immigration law now tied up in federal court. "But I get calls from doctors and nurses every day that work in the emergency room, talking about the abuse, the millions of dollars spent for folks who come in for pregnancy tests, sniffles - they use emergency room services as their primary care," he says. "When do we stand up for the taxpayers?"

The bill was pulled from a scheduled Arizona Senate Judiciary committee hearing Monday after sponsors determined it wouldn't garner enough votes, but it is expected to resurface in another committee at a later date.

So, let me get this straight.  The Senate President admits this state proposal flies in the face of federal law, but thinks he and his fellow lawmakers should waste precious time, energy and money on it anyway, in order to "stand up for the taxpayers."

I guess it's easier than tackling the hard issues related to lack of access to primary care.  And yes, abuse.

Now that the sponsors have pulled this bill, I can't wait to see how they resurrect it.  No doubt they will.