[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 663 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 663

       To amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
   Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide for an exception to limited 
eligibility for the supplemental security income program for permanent 
                            resident aliens.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 1997

Mrs. Meek of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
   Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide for an exception to limited 
eligibility for the supplemental security income program for permanent 
                            resident aliens.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Legal Immigrants' Fairness Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program 
        provides monthly cash payments to needy persons who are at 
        least 65, blind, or disabled. Persons who receive SSI payments 
        are also eligible for medicaid.
            (2) In the summer of 1996 Congress enacted the Personal 
        Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 
        (Public Law 104-193), whose primary purpose is to allow the 
        States to develop programs to move persons from welfare to 
        work.
            (3) One provision of that law eliminates supplemental 
        security income benefits for most needy legal United States 
        residents who are aged, blind, or disabled.
            (4) The Congressional Budget Office estimated that such 
        provision will cut about 500,000 needy legal residents from the 
        SSI rolls, thereby saving the Federal Government about 
        $13,000,000,000 in SSI payments through the year 2002 and about 
        $5,000,000,000 in medicaid payments through the year 2002.
            (5) Such provision will not bring these aged, blind, and 
        disabled persons into the labor force. Instead, its principal 
        impact will be to shift the fiscal responsibility for these 
        needy people from the Federal Government to State and local 
        governments.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to restore supplemental 
security income and medicaid to needy permanent residents who are aged, 
blind, or disabled.

SEC. 3. EXCEPTION TO LIMITED ELIGIBILITY FOR THE SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY 
              INCOME PROGRAM FOR PERMANENT RESIDENT ALIENS.

    (a) In General.--Section 402(a)(2) of the Personal Responsibility 
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)) 
is amended by adding after subparagraph (D) the following new 
subparagraph:
                    ``(E) SSI for Permanent Resident Aliens.--With 
                respect to eligibility for benefits under paragraph 
                (3)(A) (relating to the supplemental security income 
                program), paragraph (1) shall not apply to an alien who 
                is lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be 
effective as if included in the enactment of title IV of the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.
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