[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 156 (Saturday, November 8, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12207-S12209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNIFORM RELOCATION ASSISTANCE AND REAL PROPERTY ACQUISITION POLICIES
ACT OF 1970 AMENDMENT
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate
now proceed to the consideration of S. 1258.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1258) to amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance
and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate
consideration of the bill?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Amendment No. 1617
(Purpose: Technical Amendment)
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, Senator Bennett has an amendment at the
desk, and I ask for its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Idaho (Mr. Craig), for Mr. Bennett,
proposes an amendment numbered 1617.
On page 2, line 3, strike ``(a)''.
On page 3, line 4, strike ``, under this Act,''.
On page 3, beginning on line 5, strike ``on the basis of
race, color, or national origin''.
Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I rise today to make a brief statement
regarding S. 1258, a bill I introduced on October 6, 1997. This
legislation will amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real
Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 to prohibit an alien not
lawfully present in the United States from receiving assistance under
that act. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has
reviewed this bill and approved it for Senate floor action.
My purpose in bringing this bill before the Senate is to address a
loophole that was inadvertently created when immigration and welfare
reform bills were recently enacted. In part, these bills were crafted
to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States by
denying Federal taxpayer paid benefits to illegal aliens. Currently,
illegal aliens are still eligible to receive relocation assistance.
Often, this assistance turns out to be a significant sum of money.
This legislation was originally introduced in the other body
following an incident in California in which an illegal immigrant was
awarded $12,000 because her legal status in this country made her
ineligible to be moved into section 8 housing. In other instances,
relocation assistance is being awarded to illegal aliens who then use
the money to buy homes in their countries of origin.
This legislation simply closes a loophole which was overlooked in
previous legislation and fully complies with the intent of Congress
when it enacted immigration and welfare reform laws. I note that this
legislation will not affect foreign nationals residing in the
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United States as legal residents or under the legal protection of a
valid visa. In addition, the bill provides Federal agencies the ability
to waive the provisions of this act in case of an exceptional and
extremely unusual hardship.
I have one technical amendment to bring the bill into conformance
with the legislation already passed by the other body. This amendment
does not change the substance of the bill and I ask that it be
considered with the bill. I have worked closely with the Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works in bringing this bill to the
floor. I appreciate their support and the help of committee staff in
moving this legislation toward enactment.
Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, today the Senate is considering S. 1258, a
bill introduced by Senator Bennett to amend the Uniform Relocation
Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 to
prohibit an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States from
receiving assistance under that act. The Committee on Environment and
Public Works unanimously approved this bill on Wednesday, October 29,
1997.
S. 1258 includes several features, in addition to the general
provision prohibiting illegal aliens from receiving Federal assistance,
to ensure that the act is carried out in a fair manner. In cases of
extreme and unusual hardship, S. 1258 leaves it to the discretion of
the Department of Transportation to provide a waiver to the
ineligibility that is otherwise applicable. In addition, rights to
compensation that an illegal alien may have under other Federal or
State laws are not affected.
I ask for unanimous consent that a letter from the Congressional
Budget Office be printed in the Record.
Mr. President, I encourage Senate adoption of this necessary measure.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office
Washington, DC, November 3, 1997.
Hon. John H. Chafee,
Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1258, a bill to
amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property
Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 to prohibit an alien who is
not lawfully present in the United States from receiving
assistance under that Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts for this
estimate are Deborah Reis (for federal costs), who can be
reached at 226-2860, and Kristen Layman (for the state and
local impact), who can be reached at 225-3220.
Sincerely,
June E. O'Neill, Director.
Enclosure.
congressional budget office, cost estimate
S. 1258.--A bill to amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance
and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 to
prohibit an alien who is not lawfully present in the
United States from receiving assistance under that Act
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1258 would cost the
federal government less than $500,000 over the next year or
two, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. The
bill would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore,
pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. S. 1258 would
impose no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 and would
impose no significant costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
S. 1258 would prevent persons who are not lawfully present
in the United States from receiving relocation payments or
other assistance when real property they occupy is acquired
by a federal agency or with federal financing. The bill would
require the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to
promulgate regulations within one year of enactment to
implement the new law, including rules for determining
whether a displaced person is lawfully present in the country
and standards for judging when exceptions should be made for
unusual hardship. DOT also would be responsible for providing
agencies with information on proper implementation of the law
through training and technical assistance.
Based on information provided by DOT and other agencies,
and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO
estimates that DOT and other federal agencies would spend
less than $500,000 to develop the necessary regulations,
guidelines, and training programs to implement the
legislation. We expect that the bill would have little or no
effect on total property acquisition costs because so few
transactions are likely to involve aliens who reside
illegally in this country.
The bill would place a new requirement on state, local, and
in some circumstances, tribal entities carrying out programs
or projects with federal financial assistance that result in
the displacement of persons. As a condition of receiving such
assistance, the affected entities would have to determine
whether displaced persons are lawfully present in the United
States. Based on discussions with the U.S. Departments of
Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, and affected state
and local agencies, CBO estimates that the additional
administrative costs to state, local, and tribal governments
would be minimal.
On June 20, 1997, CBO prepared a cost estimate for H.R.
849, as ordered reported by the House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure on June 11, 1997. The two
bills are similar and the estimates are identical.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis
(for federal costs), who can be reached at 226-2860, and
Kristen Layman (for the state and local impact), who can be
reached at 225-3220. This estimate was approved by Paul N.
Van de Water, Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment
be agreed to, the bill be considered read the third time and passed, as
amended, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any
statements relating to the bill appear in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered
The amendment (No. 1617) was agreed to.
The bill (S. 1258), as amended, was passed, as follows:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DISPLACED PERSONS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE.
Title I of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real
Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 104. DISPLACED PERSONS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE.
``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (c), a
displaced person shall not be eligible to receive relocation
payments or any other assistance under this Act if the
displaced person is an alien not lawfully present in the
United States.
``(b) Determinations of Eligibility.--
``(1) Promulgation of regulations.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this section, after providing
notice and an opportunity for public comment, the head of the
lead agency shall promulgate regulations to carry out
subsection (a).
``(2) Contents of regulations.--Regulations promulgated
under paragraph (1) shall--
``(A) prescribe the processes, procedures, and information
that a displacing agency must use in determining whether a
displaced person is an alien not lawfully present in the
United States;
``(B) prohibit a displacing agency from discriminating,
against any displaced person;
``(C) ensure that each eligibility determination is fair
and based on reliable information; and
``(D) prescribe standards for a displacing agency to apply
in making determinations relating to exceptional and
extremely unusual hardship under subsection (c).
``(c) Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship.--If a
displacing agency determines by clear and convincing evidence
that a determination of the ineligibility of a displaced
person under subsection (a) would result in exceptional and
extremely unusual hardship to an individual who is the
displaced person's spouse, parent, or child and who is a
citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence in the United States, the displacing
agency shall provide relocation payments and other assistance
to the displaced person under this Act if the displaced
person would be eligible for the assistance but for
subsection (a).
``(d) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in
this section affects any right available to a displaced
person under any other provision of Federal or State law.''.
SEC. 2. DUTIES OF LEAD AGENCY.
Section 213(a) of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and
Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C.
4633(a)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) as
paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) provide, in consultation with the Attorney General
(acting through the Commissioner of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service), through training and technical
assistance activities for displacing agencies, information
developed with the Attorney General (acting through the
Commissioner) on proper implementation of section 104;
``(3) ensure that displacing agencies implement section 104
fairly and without discrimination in accordance with section
104(b)(2)(B);''.
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