Sean Reyes: “this morning I want to put a human face on one of the hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled legal immigrants who…”

“this morning I want to put a human face on one of the hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled legal immigrants who are the targets of a mean-spirited welfare bill. Piedad Gonzalez entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 1986, then a healthy woman with no history of any physical or mental illness. Like countless other immigrants, she came to this country willing to work hard and contribute. She soon found employment and had worked for 4 years before she began experiencing severe back pain. She became too disabled to continue working, having contracted arthritis. In 1994, Ms. Gonzalez applied for SSI benefits and in November 1996 received a favorable decision. However, 1 month later, this was overturned, denying her SSI benefits due to the restrictions of the welfare bill. Ms. Gonzalez should not be punished for coming to this country legally and working hard and playing by the rules. Instead, this bill wants to punish her and leave her with no means of support. The gentleman from California [Mr. Becerra] had an amendment to the spending bill which would have provided men and women like Ms. Gonzalez the means to survive. It was not made a part of the manager's amendment. I urge my colleagues to vote against the rule.”