Bill Lee: “First, let me thank the gentleman from Illinois for yielding and for his tireless leadership for families everywhere.…”

“First, let me thank the gentleman from Illinois for yielding and for his tireless leadership for families everywhere. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 2792, the so-called Control Unlawful Fugitive Felons Act. This cruel and misguided bill would terminate Supplemental Security Income benefits for vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities who have an outstanding warrant. Let me be clear. This is a horrible bill. It is mean-spirited and it is unfair. Despite this bill's misleading title, Americans who would be harmed by this bill are not felons and they are not fugitives. In reality, this bill would rip benefits from individuals who haven't been arrested, tried, or even convicted. They have only been accused. This violates the basic principle of innocent until proven guilty, and it would terminate benefits without due process. What is worse, most of these outstanding warrants are decades old and involve minor infractions when people are unable to pay for court fines and fees. This is awful. This bill criminalizes families living in poverty, and it disproportionately harms communities of color. One in five SSI recipients are African Americans. Without this critical program, believe you me, African Americans will struggle even more. Make no mistake; cutting off SSI benefits would put all families at risk of being unable to keep a roof over their heads, put food on the table, and meet other basic needs. And for what?…”