[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 28 (Monday, March 16, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1991-S1992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WELLSTONE:
  S. 1763. A bill to restore food stamp benefits for aliens; to the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.


       the food stamp benefits for aliens restoration act of 1998

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, the bill I offer today will restore 
food stamps for all legal immigrants who lost eligibility under the 
1996 welfare reform law. Representative Guiterrez and I began 
developing this legislation last fall, and in the second week of March 
he introduced an identical bill in the House. Today I introduce our 
legislation in the Senate.

  This bill is more comprehensive than the proposal included by the 
President in his budget request for FY 1999. I commend the President 
for making the effort to address this problem, but his proposal does 
not go far enough. It overlooks 100,000 immigrants who were formerly 
eligible. It seems to me wholly unreasonable to leave these people out, 
given their relatively small number.
  I say we must go further. It was a mistake to deny food stamp 
eligibility in the first place, and now is the time to make amends. The 
legislation Congressman Gutierrez and I have developed will restore 
eligibility for all legal immigrants. While the President proposes 
spending $2.43 billion dollars over the next 5 years, the cost of our 
bill would be only marginally higher--closer to $3 billion.
  The 1996 welfare bill denied legal immigrants the means to meet basic 
nutritional needs in order to save some money. But I believe that, in 
the end, this provision will not save us any money at all. In the long 
run, we as a society will have to pay this bill, and pay it in full. We 
will pay with more family conflict, more medical problems, and lower 
student achievement. The cost of this mistake will far outweigh the 
money saved. Indeed, I believe we are already paying the price.
  In searching for ways to save money, Congress conveniently chose to 
target a group of people who do not vote. On one level, it is easy to 
understand the politics of this decision. But on another level, I find 
it incomprehensible. Consider how much these hard-working people 
contribute to our society and our economy. They pay taxes and often 
perform jobs that American citizens refuse to do. The fact that they 
have no right to vote should not mean that we single them out for this 
kind of treatment.
  It was especially irresponsible to deny eligibility knowing that two 
thirds of those affected would be children. Denying basic nutrition to 
children is not what this country is about, nor should it be. But that 
is essentially what Congress did in 1996. An estimated 900,000 legal 
immigrants lost

[[Page S1992]]

their eligibility with passage of welfare reform. Another 600,000 
children--children who are American citizens but whose parents are 
legal immigrants--have seen their family's food stamps reduced. Denying 
nutrition to parents will affect these children. Nutrition is a basic 
need which, if denied or reduced, has enormous negative effects on a 
family. This is no way for a country with a proud history of compassion 
and community to go about reducing the deficit.
  Today I offer legislation that would recognize this mistake and 
correct it. Ending hunger, whether among legal residents or anybody 
else, should remain a national responsibility. It cannot be done on a 
piecemeal basis. As of today, only three states have provided full 
eligibility for legal immigrants. A total of eleven states are 
providing coupons or the equivalent for some or all legal immigrants. 
Two states have set up independent programs to serve some of the legal 
immigrant population. But each of these thirteen states has the option 
and ability to change or terminate these commendable efforts at any 
time. That's not good enough.
  In my own state of Minnesota, food stamp cuts have had a major impact 
on our immigrant communities. While the state has offered temporary and 
partial food assistance for legal immigrants to make up for the loss of 
federal benefits, it has not been enough. Food banks have experienced a 
noticeable increase in demand for their services, especially in the 
Hmong and Somali communities. In fact, all across this nation the need 
for food assistance is on the rise, especially among immigrants.
  We can alleviate at least some of this problem by passing the bill I 
offer today. I believe we have a responsibility to both the children 
suffering under this new law who are American citizens, and to the 
legal immigrants who lost coverage. If we reinstate food stamp 
eligibility, these immigrants will once again be able to provide 
adequate nutrition for themselves and for their children. I believe 
this is what we must do to meet our responsibility, and it is the right 
thing to do.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1763

       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 ``Food Stamp Benefits for 
     Aliens Restoration Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. LIMITED ELIGIBILITY OF QUALIFIED ALIENS FOR CERTAIN 
                   FEDERAL PROGRAMS.

       (a) In General.--Section 402(a) of the Personal 
     Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 
     1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)) (as amended by section 5301, 5302(a), 
     5303(a), and 5304 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public 
     Law 105-33; 111 Stat. 597, 598, 600)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A)--
       (i) by striking clause (ii);
       (ii) by striking ``Asylees.--'' and all that follows 
     through ``paragraph (3)(A)'' and inserting ``Asylees.--With 
     respect to the specified Federal program described in 
     paragraph (3)''; and
       (iii) by redesignating subclauses (I) through (IV) as 
     clauses (i) through (iv) and indenting appropriately;
       (B) in subparagraph (D)--
       (i) by striking clause (ii); and
       (ii) in clause (i)--

       (I) by striking ``(i) SSI.--'' and all that follows through 
     ``paragraph (3)(A)'' and inserting the following:

       ``(i) In general.--With respect to the specified Federal 
     program described in paragraph (3)'';

       (II) by redesignating subclauses (II) through (IV) as 
     clauses (ii) through (iv) and indenting appropriately;
       (III) by striking ``subclause (I)'' each place it appears 
     and inserting ``clause (i)''; and
       (IV) in clause (iv) (as redesignated by subclause (II)), by 
     striking ``this clause'' and inserting ``this subparagraph''; 
     and

       (C) in subparagraphs (E) through (H), by striking 
     ``paragraph (3)(A)'' each place it appears and inserting 
     ``paragraph (3)''; and
       (2) in paragraph (3)--
       (A) by striking ``means any'' and all that follows through 
     ``The supplemental'' and inserting ``means the 
     supplemental''; and
       (B) by striking subparagraph (B).
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Section 402(b)(2)(F) of the Personal Responsibility and 
     Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 
     1612(b)(2)(F)) (as added by section 5305(b) of the Balanced 
     Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33; 111 Stat. 601)) is 
     amended by striking ``subsection (a)(3)(A)'' and inserting 
     ``subsection (a)(3)''.
       (2) Section 403(d) of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
     Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613(d)) (as 
     added by section 5303(c) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 
     (Public Law 105-33; 111 Stat. 600)) is amended by striking 
     ``subsections (a)(3)(A)'' and inserting ``subsections 
     (a)(3)''.

     SEC. 3. FIVE-YEAR LIMITED ELIGIBILITY OF QUALIFIED ALIENS FOR 
                   FEDERAL MEANS-TESTED PUBLIC BENEFIT.

       Section 403(c)(2) of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
     Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613(c)(2)) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(L) Assistance or benefits under the Food Stamp Act of 
     1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq).''.

     SEC. 4. AUTHORITY FOR STATES TO PROVIDE FOR ATTRIBUTION OF 
                   SPONSORS INCOME AND RESOURCES TO THE ALIEN WITH 
                   RESPECT TO STATE PROGRAMS.

       Section 422(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
     Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1632(b)) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(8) Programs comparable to assistance or benefits under 
     the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq).''.

     SEC. 5. DERIVATIVE ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.

       Section 436 of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
     Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1646) (as 
     added by section 5305(a) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 
     (Public Law 105-33; 111 Stat. 601)) is repealed.

     SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPONSOR'S AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT.

       Section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1183a) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by striking ``(as defined in 
     subsection (e) of this section)''; and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
       ``(g) Means-Tested Public Benefit Defined.--In this 
     section, the term `means-tested public benefit' does not 
     include assistance or benefits provided under the Food Stamp 
     Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq).''.

     SEC. 7. STATUS OF CUBAN AND HAITIAN ENTRANTS.

       Section 6(f) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 
     2015(f)) is amended in the first sentence by inserting before 
     the period at the end the following: ``; or (G) an alien who 
     is a Cuban and Haitian entrant (as defined in section 501(e) 
     of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 (Public Law 
     96-422; 8 U.S.C. 1522 note))''.

     SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall be 
     effective as if included in the enactment of the Personal 
     Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 
     1996 (Public Law 104-193; 110 Stat. 2105).
                                 ______