[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 40 (Wednesday, April 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2966-S2967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FOOD STAMPS TO LEGAL IMMIGRANTS

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the 1996 welfare law unfairly reduced 
SSI, Medicaid and food stamp benefits for legal immigrants. Food stamps 
alone were cut by $25 billion. No other program has been cut as deeply.
  Last year, recognizing that these cuts were too extreme, Congress 
restored SSI and Medicaid to many elderly and disabled immigrants. It's 
time to finish the job and ensure that those whose Medicaid and SSI 
were restored, do not go hungry. And we should do the same for children 
of legal immigrants.
  Last week, the conferees on the Agricultural Research bill made a 
down payment toward restoring food stamps for the needy legal 
immigrants. The conference report on the bill includes $818 million for 
this program. It is far less than the $2 billion proposed in the 
President's budget, and it covers a much smaller group of immigrants.
  The conferees' proposal is a bipartisan effort. Both Republicans and 
Democrats urged them to take this step as soon as possible.
  Yet, the Republican leadership in the Senate is ignoring the urgent 
need. The Republican budget does not include a single penny to restore 
food stamps to immigrant children, refugees, Hmong veterans, or elderly 
and disabled legal immigrants, and the Republican leadership has 
declined to allow the Senate to pass on the Agricultural Research bill.
  According to Department of Agriculture estimates, at least 935,000 
low-income legal immigrants lost their federal food stamps in 1997 as a 
result of the 1996 welfare law. Nearly two-thirds are immigrant 
families with children.
  Many legal immigrants live in poverty and have great difficulty 
feeding their families. In fact, according to the Department of 
Agriculture, the average legal immigrant denied food stamps has an 
income equal to just 62 percent of the poverty line, or about $8,000 
for a family of three.
  In addition, thousands of refugees who have applied for citizenship 
could lose food stamps as they wait in the naturalization backlog for 
their applications to be processed if the 5 year limit on food stamps 
for this group is not extended to 7 years.
  The effects of these food stamps terminations is not limited to legal 
immigrants. Their children born here are American citizens but they too 
are facing sharp reductions in their food stamps. Their children remain 
eligible for food stamps themselves, but the removal of their parents 
from the program has meant that the food stamp benefits for their 
families have been cut by 50 to 70 percent in many cases. 600,000 poor 
children who are American citizens live in families where food stamp 
benefits have been reduced for this reason, resulting in less food for 
all family members, including the children.
  The food stamp cut-off has hurt immigrant families, and it has also 
hurt state and local governments, who must fill the gap. As a result, 
governors and state legislatures have joined Congress to restore these 
food stamp benefits. As Governor Bush of Texas said, ``Food stamps are 
a federal program and the federal responsibility, but the federal 
government is shirking its responsibility. The rules have changed 
unfairly and retroactively for those least able to help themselves.''
  It is time for the Senate to act on the bill. It is unconscionable 
that these benefits can continue to be denied.

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