[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 16, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS ONLY ACT

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                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 16, 2005

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the Social Security for 
American Citizens Only Act. This act forbids the federal government 
from providing Social Security benefits to non-citizens. It also ends 
the practice of totalization. Totalization is where the Social Security 
Administration takes into account the number of years an individual 
worked abroad, and thus was not paying payroll taxes, in determining 
that individual's eligibility for Social Security benefits.
  Hard as it may be to believe, the United States Government already 
provides Social Security benefits to citizens of 17 other countries. 
Under current law, citizens of those countries covered by these 
agreements may have an easier time getting Social Security benefits 
than public school teachers or policemen.
  Obviously, this program provides a threat to the already fragile 
Social Security system, and the threat is looming larger. A little-
noticed part of the administration's immigration ``reform'' proposal 
would make hundreds of thousands of Mexican citizens eligible for U.S. 
Social Security benefits. Totalization is the centerpiece of this 
proposal, so even if a Mexican citizen did not work in the United 
States long enough to qualify for Social Security, the number of years 
worked in Mexico would be added to bring up the total and thus make the 
Mexican worker eligible for cash transfers from the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, press reports also indicate that thousands of foreigners 
who would qualify for U.S. Social Security benefits actually came to 
the United States and worked here illegally. That's right: the federal 
government may actually allow someone who came to the United States 
illegally, worked less than the required number of years to qualify for 
Social Security, and then returned to Mexico for the rest of his 
working years, to collect full U.S. Social Security benefits while 
living in Mexico. That is an insult to the millions of Americans who 
pay their entire working lives into the system and now face the 
possibility that there may be nothing left when it is their turn to 
retire.
  The proposed agreement is nothing more than a financial reward to 
those who have willingly and knowingly violated our own immigration 
laws. Talk about an incentive for illegal immigration. How many more 
would break the law to come to this country if promised U.S. government 
paychecks for life? Is creating a global welfare state on the back of 
the American taxpayer a good idea? The program also establishes a very 
disturbing precedent of U.S. foreign aid to individual citizens rather 
than to states.
  Estimates of what this latest totalization proposal would cost top $1 
billion per year. Supporters of the Social Security to Mexico deal may 
attempt to downplay the effect the agreement would have on the system, 
but actions speak louder than words: According to several press 
reports, the State Department and the Social Security Administration 
are planning to enact a new building in Mexico City to handle the 
expected rush of applicants for this new program. As the system braces 
for a steep increase in those who will be drawing from the Social 
Security trust fund while policy makers seriously consider cutting 
Social Security benefits to American seniors and raising payroll taxes 
on American workers, it makes no sense to expand Social Security into a 
global welfare system. Social Security was designed to provide support 
for retired American citizens who worked in the United States. We 
should be shoring up the system for those Americans who have paid in 
for decades, not expanding it to cover foreigners who have not.

  It is long past time for Congress to stand up to the internationalist 
bureaucrats and start looking out for the American worker. I therefore 
call upon my colleagues to stop the use of the Social Security Trust 
Fund as yet another vehicle for foreign aid by cosponsoring the Social 
Security for American Citizens Only Act.
  Original Cosponsors of the Social Security for American Citizens Only 
Act: Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06), John Duncan (TN-02), Scott Garrett (NJ-
05), Virgil Goode (VA-03), Thaddeus McCotter (MI-11), Zach Wamp (TN-
03).

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