The headline of a Daily Caller article of Dec. 18 was: “Senate Dems block amendment to restore veteran benefits by closing illegal immigrant welfare loophole.”

The amendment referred to was introduced by U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and would close the loophole that allowed illegal aliens to claim $4.2 billion in tax refunds in 2010. The vote failed by a 46 to 54 margin, mostly along party lines, with Maine’s U.S. senators splitting the vote: Sen. Susan Collins voted for it and dear leader Sen. Angus King voted against it, showing his desire to continue sending tax refunds to illegal aliens.

After the vote, an aide to Sen. Sessions emailed: “Reid’s majority just voted to keep pension cuts for vets instead of cutting welfare payments to illegal aliens.”

This tax issue illustrates how the federal government favors illegal aliens to the detriment of its citizens. The IRS knows these payments are going to illegal aliens but they claim the mechanism does not exist to act on it.

In a related case, according to CNSNEWS.com, the Social Security Administration criticized the IRS because it was not fining employers for submitting W-2A forms with “mismatched” Social Security numbers, many of which are used by illegal aliens (Aug. 29, 2013).

Sen. King can now join the IRS in supporting illegal aliens and, following on his June 13 speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, cement his position as an indelible “open borders” advocate.

Bob Casimiro, Bridgton