Wilson Chastised on Budget in Washington : Government: Claiming state program encouraged illegal influx, Sen. Byrd says blaming U.S. for immigration costs is hypocritical.

Gov. Pete Wilson came under a prolonged, blistering attack from one of the most powerful members of Congress on Wednesday for his use of “overblown” rhetoric in blaming California’s budget crisis on the federal government’s failure to pay costs associated with illegal immigration.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), chairman of the influential Appropriations Committee, chastised the Republican governor for about 30 minutes during a daylong hearing to explore the financial burdens created by illegal immigrants.

Byrd suggested that Wilson had no business criticizing Congress for passing laws that may encourage immigrants to enter the country illegally when the state’s Department of Health Services last year actively urged undocumented pregnant women to apply for a publicly funded program to pay their medical bills.

“I’d simply suggest, governor, that we lower our voice just a little bit with respect to the fault of the federal government in its mandate and take a good look-see at what our own state agencies are doing to see if they’re enforcing the law,” Byrd told Wilson, a former colleague in the Senate.

Wilson was flanked by the governors of Florida and Arizona at a witness table. Afterward, Wilson told reporters that the promotional program, called “BabyCal,” was “unauthorized” and corrected this year.

“I thought that it was a waste of time, frankly,” Wilson said of Byrd’s line of questioning. “What we ought to be doing is focusing on the fact that federal failure continues to provide this massive flow of illegal immigrants into my state and the other states.”

Wednesday’s appearance before the Appropriations Committee marked the fifth time in six months that Wilson has traveled to Washington to lobby for federal reimbursement and complain that the Clinton Administration is not doing enough to solve California’s budget woes.

Wilson announced Wednesday that West Hills Community College in Coalinga is being made available to the federal government as a second federal center to quickly train and deploy Border Patrol agents. Congress last year approved funding for 1,010 new agents in the Southwest by the end of 1995.

After the hearing, Wilson said he was satisfied that the three governors had persuaded the Senate panel that large border states have unfairly shouldered the financial burden of providing health, educational and incarceration services to illegal immigrants.

“I think they knew there was a problem, but I think they were shocked to learn of its dimensions,” Wilson said.

Wilson urged Congress to act swiftly to reimburse California the more than $3 billion he claims it spends annually on illegal immigrants and their families.

“The only question is: When will the federal government accept its responsibility and how will they act to solve this crisis? Let me tell you, it’s imperative that we see action this year,” Wilson said.

No such action appears forthcoming. Byrd warned all three governors at the hearing--Wilson, Democrat Lawton Chiles of Florida and Republican Fife Symington of Arizona--that little in discretionary funds will be available over the next five years to pay for illegal immigration costs.

After the committee heard statements from the three governors, Byrd zeroed in on Wilson, who seemed caught off guard by his hostile approach.

Byrd began by calling attention to blown-up posters of promotional literature printed in 1988 by the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health that said, “Medi-Cal has good news for pregnant women. You do not need to be a citizen to get Medi-Cal.”

Using the same language that Wilson employs to describe how federally required benefits draw illegal immigrants across the border into California, Byrd said of the brochure, “Isn’t it a kind of magnetic lure?”

Wilson tried to explain that San Bernardino County officials were acting independently of the state and discontinued the flyers in 1991.

“Mr. Chairman, I’d be happy to respond,” Wilson said.

“No, I’m not ready yet,” Byrd replied to a roomful of laughter.

“Whenever you are, I’d be happy to respond,” Wilson added.

“I’ll call on you,” Byrd said.

Byrd then produced a 1993 brochure by Wilson’s California Department of Health Services titled “BabyCal.”

“This is 1993. That brochure asked the question, Can you get Medi-Cal? If you are pregnant, you can get Medi-Cal even if you are not lawfully in the U.S., you are not a U.S. citizen, you have applied for amnesty, you were denied Medi-Cal in the past.”

Byrd asked, “Now do you believe that this brochure might encourage illegal aliens to cross our border for prenatal care?”

Wilson assured Byrd that the brochure was “not authorized” and he did not know it had been distributed.

Said Byrd: “Well, how does a state agency get away with that?”

“That’s a very good question,” Wilson said. The governor noted that the information was inaccurate because the program is restricted to California residents.

At one point, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), no great ally of either Byrd or Wilson, tried to come to Wilson’s defense. “I suspect the governor may be told one thing while another thing is going on,” Feinstein offered. But when the California senator attempted to continue, Byrd cut her off, saying, “No, not on my time.”

The chairman then continued to grill Wilson. “Were you not aware, governor, that the state health department was putting out this information in Spanish as well as English?”

Wilson, exasperated by the questions, expressed bewilderment at the point Byrd was trying to make.

“The point of the question is that states as well as the federal government must act together to reduce the attraction of the United States for illegal immigrants,” Byrd said.