Bob Filner: “I am glad that today we will rein in the overreaching arm of this so-called reform, correct the overbite of this…”

“I am glad that today we will rein in the overreaching arm of this so-called reform, correct the overbite of this legislation and bring comfort and aid to those unjustly affected. Among its several corrections, this bill includes one that will immediately impact and assist residents in my congressional district in San Diego, California. When Congress approved that 1996 legislation, thousands of resident immigrants who had been receiving SSI benefits had their benefit eligibility rescinded. The bill overreached and mistakenly categorized these people as nonqualified aliens ineligible to receive SSI benefits. As I said at the time and as the Social Security Administration has since verified, the benefits of thousands of qualified recipients were swept away by the extreme nature of the 1996 legislation. While Congress has sought to correct the situation and to help those individuals with short-term benefit extensions, today we will make that eligibility permanent.”