Romney Talks Immigration, Health Care

By KEN RITTER – 1 day ago

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney anticipated questions about health care when he called on a friendly Nevada business group Friday. It was the question on immigration that surprised him.

"I didn't expect that to be ... a major concern of the chamber," the former private equity businessman and Massachusetts governor said after giving his stump speech and taking four questions from a Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce round-table.

"But it's a concern across the country," Romney said. "People are tired of all the talk and lack of action to stop illegal immigration."

Immigration is a major concern for businesses nationwide as they deal with the fallout if they hire employees who are in the country illegally.

Romney said he favors issuing employment verification cards to legal immigrants "with their name, their number, their picture" and "biometric information."

"You take that card, punch in the number in the computer or swipe it," he said. "If it's valid, you can hire them. If it's not, you can't."

Romney was on comfortable turf courting conservatives among 22 chamber members who attended. He drew laughter when he cast the Democratic candidates who debated Thursday night as too liberal to run the country.

"It's not that liberals are ignorant,'" Romney said, quoting former President Reagan. "'It's just that what they know is wrong.'"

The Democratic National Committee responded in a statement that Romney "refuses to offer clear plans on the war in Iraq, health care or immigration reform."

The chamber won't make any endorsements in the presidential campaign, though every candidate was offered a chance for a round-table chat, said Kara Kelley, chief executive of the 7,000-member organization.

Romney, who gained national prominence guiding the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, was the first to take the offer. He used it to espouse his core beliefs and seek backing from individual members.

He summarized his Massachusetts health law as a way to force those who can afford private health insurance to sign up, while helping low-income people pay their premiums.

"My plan said this," Romney said: "Now that we got the rates down so they're more affordable ... either buy a health care policy or pay your own way at the hospital. But no more showing up expecting free care from the government or from the hospital."

Romney's rivals gleefully pointed out this week that Massachusetts residents had to sign up by Thursday or they likely would face tax penalties starting Jan. 1.

Anyone lacking coverage will lose the personal exemption on their state income tax filing next spring, equal to $219. If they remain uninsured into 2008, they will be taxed up to 50 percent of the cost of the least-expensive private insurance plan — an estimated hit of at least $150 a month.