[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       DISMANTLING THE SAFETY NET

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 1997

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, in the few short months since Congress has 
embarked on the misguided and destructive mission of welfare reform, 
the dismantling of the safety net necessary for the health and well-
being of our Nation's most vulnerable populations--our children and the 
elderly--has reaped deadly effects. The Republican wish has come true. 
Republicans have successfully removed the neediest Americans from the 
rolls--permanently.
  In March of this year, one man took his own life to avoid the 
uncertainty of the future. After receiving a letter informing him that 
he might be cut off of Social Security, Ignacio Munoz, a 75-year-old 
elderly legal immigrant, put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. 
Mr. Munoz had worked in the United States for 40 years, but the Social 
Security Administration had payment records only for 10 years. Mr. 
Munoz committed suicide because of extreme fear of being cut off from 
his only means of support. Mr. Munoz' fear of being left out in the 
cold continues to grip the legal and elderly immigrant community.
  Still, with vehement opposition from State and local governments, 
advocacy groups, and poor and disabled Americans themselves, 
Republicans continue to turn a deaf ear while unashamedly forging 
ahead. As the Ways and Means Committee begins the welfare 
reconciliation markup, I believe it is important to heed these 
predictions from experts concerning the impact of welfare reform:


                                children

  In California, nearly 250,000 children would be denied benefits.--
Children's Defense Fund
  Nationwide, nearly \1/2\ of all children with disabilities, or 
140,000, will lose SSI.--Children's Defense Fund
  Nearly 3.3 million children would be denied welfare assistance.--
Children's Defense Fund
  1.14 million children will be driven into poverty, making one child 
in four poor in America.--Children's Defense Fund
  Nearly 134,000 children in New York State would be impoverished.--
Children's Defense Fund
  300,000 children will be cut from SSI.--Social Security 
Administration
  50,000 children will lose Medicaid benefits.--Social Security 
Administration
  Over 57,000 children in Texas would be reduced to poverty.--
Children's Defense Fund
  Nearly 64,000 children in Michigan would be made poor.--Children's 
Defense Fund
  1.2 million legal immigrants, including 450,000 children, would lose 
SSI and/or food stamps.--Children's Defense Fund
  10% of all families nationwide would lose some benefits.--Children's 
Defense Fund
  For families with children, more than 20% would lose some benefits.--
Children's Defense Fund
  20% of families with children would have their incomes reduced by 
$1,300 a year.--Children's Defense Fund


                            legal immigrants

  500,000 legal immigrants will be cut off the SSI rolls--Washington 
Post, May 3, 1997
  Nearly 1,000,000 legal immigrants will lose food stamps.--Washington 
Post, May 3, 1997
  400,000 elderly legal immigrants will not receive SSI.--Los Angeles 
Times, June 5, 1997
  100,000 severely disabled legal immigrants will be cut off SSI.--New 
York Times, June 5, 1997
  1,000,000 legal immigrants could lose food stamps nationwide.--Los 
Angeles Times, May 2, 1997
  Four states--California, New York, Florida, and Texas, with \1/3\ of 
the House of Representatives and all with Republican governors--would 
be the hardest hit under this new law.--Newsday, April 10, 1997
  Legal immigrants account for 5% of those in the U.S. who receive 
welfare, but will bear 44% of the cuts.--San Francisco Chronicle, 
February 13, 1997
  Legal immigrants--including those poor legal immigrants over 75 or 
permanently disabled--are wholly ineligible for food stamps.--Center on 
Budget


                               california

  224,000 legal immigrants will be cut off in California--Rocky 
Mountain News, May 17, 1997
  Over 3,000 elderly legal immigrants will lose welfare benefits in 
Sacramento County.--Sacramento Bee, May 17, 1997
  41% of all legal immigrants who are scheduled to lose disability 
payments live in California.--Los Angeles Times, May 2, 1997

  427,000 legal immigrants live in California.--Los Angeles Times, May 
2, 1997
  135,000 legal immigrants over 65 years old live in California.--San 
Francisco Chronicle, April 19, 1997
  Three-fold increase in the number of new homeless.--Alameda County 
Health Care Services
  In California, hundreds of thousands coming off the welfare rolls 
would vie with one million already on the unemployment rolls for entry-
level jobs.--San Francisco Chronicle, January 10, 1997


                           LOS ANGELES COUNTY

  In Los Angeles County 430,000 legal immigrants could lose food stamps 
and other federal aid.--San Francisco Chronicle, February 13, 1997
  In Los Angeles County, welfare cutbacks will impact 518,000 people.--
Children's Defense Fund
  Up to 227,600 people could lose health care insurance in Los Angeles 
County.--Children's Defense Fund
  Up to 30,000 women could lose prenatal care in Los Angeles County.--
Children's Defense Fund
  Up to 21,000 additional children could wind up in Foster Care in Los 
Angeles County.--Children's Defense Fund
  Nearly 200,000 legal immigrants on AFDC in Los Angeles County would 
lose their benefits.--San Francisco Chronicle, February 13, 1997
  150,000 receive SSI in Los Angeles County.--San Francisco Chronicle, 
April 19, 1997
  90,000 receiving SSI in Los Angeles County are children.--San 
Francisco Chronicle, April 19, 1997
  200,000 legal immigrants in Los Angeles County on AFDC face a 
cutoff.--San Francisco Chronicle, April 19, 1997
  In Los Angeles County, 430,000 legal immigrants could lose food 
stamps and other federal aid.--San Francisco Chronicle, February 13, 
1997
  Nearly 200,000 legal immigrants on AFDC in Los Angeles County would 
lose their benefits.--San Francisco Chronicle, February 13, 1997


                              CONNECTICUT

  19,000 legal immigrants in Connecticut are on SSI.--Hartford Courant, 
January 31, 1997


                              PENNSYLVANIA

  484,000 families on AFDC will be affected in Pennsylvania.--
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 2, 1997


                                NEW YORK

  The new law will affect 70,000 in New York City.--Newsday, April 22, 
1997
  85,000 legal immigrants will lose benefits in New York City.--New 
York Times, May 10, 1997
  In an area of Brooklyn called Southside, nearly \1/2\ of the 27,000 
residents receive some form of public assistance. If thousands lose 
their benefits, it would bring extreme hardship to this neighborhood.--
New York Times, March 10, 1997


                                FLORIDA

  54,000 legal immigrants live in Florida.--Sun-Sentinel, April 20, 
1997
  39,000 legal immigrants in Florida are over 65 years old.--Sun-
Sentinel, April 20, 1997
  43,000 legal immigrants in Florida live in just one county, Dade 
County.--Sun-Sentinel, April 20, 1997

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