Political Quotes

“when Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Responsibility Reconciliation Act of 1996, it ended public welfare for most aliens who had not worked to earn their benefits. The 1997 Balanced Budget Act reversed some of the provisions of that bill by reinstating eligibility for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program for disabled and elderly immigrants who were in the country before August 22, 1996, the day the omnibus welfare reform package passed into law. But the act also reinstated SSI for immigrants who were in the country as of August 22, 1996 and become disabled in the future. The SSI program is fraught with fraud. According to the General Accounting Office (GAO), the Social Security Administration sends out $27 billion in SSI checks annually. Approximately $4 billion in checks are sent out erroneously. Immigrants, who make up just 6 percent of the population, currently receive over half the cash benefits from the SSI program. The agriculture research bill we are debating today restores food stamp eligibility for the elderly and the disabled, and for children, as long as they were in the United States before August 22, 1996. But, the agriculture research bill also includes the restoration of food stamp benefits for all immigrants who were in the country as of August 22, 1996, but who become disabled in the future. The Congress is going to spend approximately $800 million to restore all of these benefits.”