[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 93 (Thursday, July 8, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7836-S7837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SMITH (for himself, Mr. Kohl, and Mr. Lugar):
  S. 2623. A bill to amend section 402 of the Personal Responsibility 
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide a 2-year 
extension of supplemental security income in fiscal years 2005 through 
2007 for refugees, asylees, and certain other humanitarian immigrants; 
to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined today by my 
colleagues, Senators Kohl and Lugar to introduce this important piece 
of legislation. Legislation that will ensure the United States 
government does not turn its back on political asylees or refugees who 
are the most vulnerable citizens seeking safety in this great country 
of ours.
  As many of you may know, Congress as part of Personal Responsibility 
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) modified the SSI 
program to include a seven-year time limit on the receipt of benefits 
for refugees and asylees. This policy was intended to balance the 
desire to have people who emigrate to the United States to become 
citizens, with an understanding that the naturalization process also 
takes time to complete. To allow adequate time for asylees and refugees 
to become naturalized citizens Congress provided the seven-year time 
limit before the expiration of SSI benefits.
  Unfortunately, the naturalization process often takes longer than 
seven years because applicants are required to live in the United 
States for a minimum of five years prior to applying for citizenship 
and the INS often takes three or more years to process the application. 
Because of this time delay, many individuals are trapped in the system 
faced with the loss of their SSI benefits.
  If Congress does not act to change the law, reports show that over 
the next four years nearly 30,000 elderly and disabled refugees and 
asylees will lose their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits 
because their seven-year time limit will expire before they become 
citizens. Many of these individuals are elderly who fled persecution or 
torture in their home countries. They include Jews fleeing religious 
persecution in the former Soviet Union, Iraqi Kurds fleeing the Saddam 
Hussein regime, Cubans and Hmong people from the highlands of Laos who 
served on the side of the United States military during the Vietnam 
War. They are elderly and unable to work, and have become reliant on 
their SSI benefits as their primary income. To penalize them because of 
delays encountered through the bureaucratic process seems unjust and 
inappropriate.
  I would like to share the story of Yelena, a victim of religious 
persecution in the former Soviet Union who sought refuge in the United 
States seven years ago and is currently living in Portland, Oregon. At 
the age of 82, Yelena relies on SSI and other public benefits programs 
to buy food and pay her monthly bills. Yelena is now stuck in a multi-
year backlog waiting for her green card, the first step toward 
citizenship. She was raised in a small village in the Soviet Union 
where she had little access to formal education and never learned 
English. She has struggled to grasp the language since arriving in the 
US and as a result, her seven-year anniversary arrived before she was 
able to naturalize. Yelena is now without her SSI benefits and still 
fighting to become a citizen. We must help Yelena and others like her.
  The Administration in its fiscal year 2005 budget acknowledged the 
necessity to correct this problem by dedicating funding in its budget 
to extend refugee eligibility for SSI beyond the seven-year limit. 
While I am pleased that they have taken the first step in correcting 
this problem, I am concerned the policy does not go far enough. Data 
shows that most people will need at least an additional two years to 
navigate and complete the naturalization process. Therefore, my 
colleagues and I have introduced this bill, which will provide a two-
year extension. We believe this will provide the time necessary to 
complete the process.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in support of this bill, and I look 
forward to working with Chairman Grassley and other members of the 
Finance Committee to secure these changes.

[[Page S7837]]

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President. In December, 2003, the U.S. government 
unexpectedly announced plans to resettle up to 15,000 Hmong refugees 
from Laos currently living in Thailand. These refugees will be reunited 
with some 200,000 Hmong family members who were resettled here in the 
years after the Vietnam War, some as recently as the 1990s. Many of 
these Hmong fought with the CIA in Laos during the Vietnam War, 
providing critical assistance to U.S. forces. After the fall of Saigon, 
thousands of Hmong fled Laos and its communist Pathet Lao government. 
The United States remains indebted to these courageous individuals and 
their families.
  While we work with the Department of Health and Human Services to 
identify funds to help these new refugees resettle, it is extremely 
important that we act to help those refugees and asylees already living 
in the United States. In addition to the Hmong, America has served as a 
shelter for Jews and Baptists fleeing religious persecution in the 
former Soviet Union; and for Iraqis and Cubans escaping tyrannical 
dictatorships. Our policy toward refugees and asylees embodies the best 
of our country--compassion, opportunity, and freedom. I am proud of the 
example our policies set with respect to the treatment of those seeking 
refuge.
  But I am disappointed in our decision to allow these people to enter 
the country and then deny them the means to live. Thousands of people 
who fled religious and political persecution to seek freedom in the 
U.S. will now be punished by a short-sighted policy. A provision in the 
1996 welfare reform bill restricted the amount of time that elderly and 
disabled refugees and asylees could be eligible for Supplemental 
Security Income (SSI) benefits. These benefits serve as a basic monthly 
income for individuals who are 65 or older, disabled or blind. Over the 
next 4 years, it is estimated that 40,000 refugees and political 
asylees could lose these important benefits on which they often rely.
  The 1996 welfare law included a 7-year time limit on SSI benefits for 
legal humanitarian immigrants. In order to avoid losing this important 
support, refugees and asylees must become citizens within the 7-year 
limit. Unfortunately, this has proved impossible for far too many. The 
process of becoming a citizen only truly begins after a refugee has 
resided in the U.S. for 5 years as a lawful permanent resident. And 
beyond that, there are many other barriers, such as language skills and 
processing and bureaucratic delays within the various agencies, which 
an immigrant must overcome before they become naturalized. Beginning in 
2003, immigrants trapped in this process--too often the most vulnerable 
elderly and families--began to lose their SSI benefits with no hope of 
recourse.
  This inherent flaw in the system has to be changed. That is why 
Senators Smith, Lugar and I are introducing the SSI Extension for 
Disabled and Elderly Refugees Act. This legislation extends the amount 
of time that refugees and asylees have to become citizens to nine 
years. The legislation will retroactively restore benefits to many who 
have already lost them, and will protect those who are scheduled to 
lose benefits in the next two years.
  I cannot stress how important this legislation is to many in the 
State of Wisconsin. Just last month, an article in the Green Bay Press-
Gazette told of the difficulties facing 79-year-old Sia Xiong, a Hmong 
refugee who could lose benefits in the coming months. Like many elderly 
refugees, she doesn't know English, which poses a huge barrier in her 
application for citizenship. Despite the assistance that has been given 
to refugees like Xiong from agencies such as Lutheran Social Services 
or Kajsiab House or the Neighborhood Law Project in Madison, the length 
of the naturalization process has proved overwhelming to too many 
refugees.
  Congress must take action immediately to help people like Xiong, and 
her family. In addition to the Hmong population in Wisconsin, almost 
every State in the country is home to immigrants who will be affected 
by the limit. Our country has long been a symbol of freedom, equality 
and opportunity. Our laws should reflect that. Every day that goes by 
could result in the loss of a refugee's support system--I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation and restore the principles we 
were put here to protect.
                                 ______