Dianne Feinstein: “Senator Graham offered an amendment which deals with the receiving of benefits by people who are newcomers to this…”

“Senator Graham offered an amendment which deals with the receiving of benefits by people who are newcomers to this country but here in a legal status as legal aliens. This amendment relates to that amendment. It provides that the ban on public benefits for newcomers to this country become effective September 1 of this year and last until they become citizens of this country, which can take place in 5 years. In essence, what we would do is take the provision of the bill which effectively prevents and throws off of any benefit program people in this country legally and we would make that prospective. I do this as a Californian. This bill and this amendment has an enormous impact on California, and I want to say why. Presently, in California, are 52.4 percent of all of the legal immigrants in the country on SSI. Fifty-two percent of all the legal immigrants in the country on SSI, aged, blind and disabled, are in the State of California. This bill is where a good deal of the savings are gathered, whether the savings are $16 or $18 billion, clearly, 52 percent of those savings comes from California. I am here with my colleague, Senator Boxer, to tell you that 1 million people--bigger than the population of many States--on the date this bill becomes effective will be thrown OFF of AFDC, will be thrown off of SSI immediately. This includes in my city, San Francisco, very elderly and very senior Russian immigrants.”