That's because the law also has provisions forcing steep federal cuts to supplemental Medicaid payments received by hospitals that serve large numbers of poor and uninsured patients.

WSJ: Hospitals Urge Medicaid Expansion

It is no small irony, therefore, that the presence of the REAL ID provisions on the military's supplemental funding bill is being cited by the Senate parliamentarian as grounds for Senator Larry Craig, Republican of Idaho, to try to attach to it legislation that would help eviscerate what currently passes for restrictions on illegal immigration.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Amnesty by any other name