Rep. Rohrabacher (R-CA)

May 18 –– H.R. 3722, a bill by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), that endangered emergency medical treatment of undocumented aliens, was defeated. The Undocumented Alien Emergency Medical Assistance Amendments of 2004, would have, according to activists, forced doctors and nurses to report patients suspected of being undocumented immigrants, to the Department of Homeland Security, and hospitals would have to collect citizenship status information on patients.

Some 88 members voted for the Rohrabacher amendments (86 Republicans and 2 Democrats), and 331 voted against them (133 Republicans and 197 Democrats). Bills to restrict companies from offshoring services that involve sending out personal information about U.S. citizens have been introduced in both the Senate and the House. In the Senate, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) introduced S 1637 to regulate export of data overseas, requiring American companies to notify customers their personal information would be sent abroad and allowing them to opt out of that venture; as well as holding U.S. companies liable for actions of overseas contractors.

In the House of Representatives, Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ed Markey’s bill, HR 4366, is virtually on the same lines.