[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 145 (Tuesday, December 2, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H8232-H8237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NO SOCIAL SECURITY FOR NAZIS ACT
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 5739) to amend the Social Security Act to
provide for the termination of social security benefits for individuals
who participated in Nazi persecution, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5739
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 ``No Social Security for Nazis
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Congress enacted social security legislation to provide
earned benefits for workers and their families, should they
retire, become disabled, or die.
(2) Congress never intended for participants in Nazi
persecution to be allowed to enter the United States or to
reap the benefits of United States residency or citizenship,
including participation in the Nation's Social Security
program.
SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF BENEFITS.
(a) In General.--Section 202(n)(3) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 402(n)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
``(3) For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
subsection--
``(A) an individual against whom a final order of removal
has been issued under section 237(a)(4)(D) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act on grounds of participation in Nazi
persecution shall be considered to have been removed under
such section as of the date on which such order became final;
``(B) an individual with respect to whom an order admitting
the individual to citizenship has been revoked and set aside
under section 340 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in
any case in which the revocation and setting aside is based
on conduct described in section 212(a)(3)(E)(i) of such Act
(relating to participation in Nazi persecution), concealment
of a material fact about such conduct, or willful
misrepresentation about such conduct shall be considered to
have been removed as described in paragraph (1) as of the
date of such revocation and setting aside; and
``(C) an individual who pursuant to a settlement agreement
with the Attorney General has admitted to conduct described
in section 212(a)(3)(E)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (relating to participation in Nazi persecution) and who
pursuant to such settlement agreement has lost status as a
national of the United States by a renunciation under section
349(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act shall be
considered to have been removed as described in paragraph (1)
as of the date of such renunciation.''.
(b) Other Benefits.--Section 202(n) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
402(n)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4) In the case of any individual described in paragraph
(3) whose monthly benefits are terminated under paragraph
(1)--
``(A) no benefits otherwise available under section 202
based on the wages and self-employment income of any other
individual shall be paid to such individual for any month
after such termination; and
``(B) no supplemental security income benefits under title
XVI shall be paid to such individual for any such month,
including supplementary payments pursuant to an agreement for
Federal administration under section 1616(a) and payments
pursuant to an agreement entered into under section 212(b) of
Public Law 93-66''.
SEC. 4. NOTIFICATIONS.
Section 202(n)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
402(n)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
``(2)(A) In the case of the removal of any individual under
any of the paragraphs of section 237(a) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (other than under paragraph (1)(C) of
such section) or under section 212(a)(6)(A) of such Act, the
revocation and setting aside of citizenship of any individual
under section 340 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in
any case in which the revocation and setting aside is based
on conduct described in section 212(a)(3)(E)(i) of such Act
(relating to participation in Nazi persecution), or the
renunciation of nationality by any individual under section
349(a)(5) of such Act pursuant to a settlement agreement with
the Attorney General where the individual has admitted to
conduct described in section 212(a)(3)(E)(i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (relating to participation in
Nazi persecution) occurring after the date of the enactment
of the No Social Security for Nazis Act, the Attorney General
or the Secretary of Homeland Security shall notify the
Commissioner of Social Security of such removal, revocation
and setting aside, or renunciation of nationality not later
than 7 days after such removal, revocation and setting aside,
or renunciation of nationality (or, in the case of any such
removal, revocation and setting aside, of renunciation of
nationality that has occurred prior to the date of the
enactment of the No Social Security for Nazis Act, not later
than 7 days after such date of enactment).
``(B)(i) Not later than 30 days after the enactment of the
No Social Security for Nazis Act, the Attorney General shall
certify to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate
that the Commissioner of Social Security has been notified of
each removal, revocation and setting aside, or renunciation
of nationality described in subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Not later than 30 days after each notification with
respect to an individual under subparagraph (A), the
Commissioner of Social Security shall certify to the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Finance of the Senate that such
individual's benefits were terminated under this
subsection.''.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to
benefits paid for any month beginning after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise as chairman of the Ways and Means
Subcommittee on Social Security--the committee of jurisdiction over
Social Security benefits--in support of the No Social Security for
Nazis Act, legislation I introduced along with Ranking Member Xavier
Becerra.
The world must never forget the 6 million Jews and other innocents
murdered in the Holocaust. America has worked hard to prevent Nazis
from entering the country and reaping the benefits of U.S. citizenship,
including Social Security. Social Security is an earned benefit.
Hardworking Americans pay a portion of their wages for promises of
future benefits. However, it is a benefit that was never intended for
those who participated in the horrific acts of the Holocaust.
Under the Social Security Act, Social Security benefits are
terminated when individuals are deported due to participating in Nazi
persecutions. Some individuals whom the Department of Justice
identified as Nazi persecutors were denaturalized or voluntarily
renounced their citizenship and left the country to avoid formal
deportation proceedings. However, due to a loophole, certain Nazi
persecutors have continued to receive Social Security benefits. Today
we will put an end to this loophole.
The bill amends the law to stop benefit payments to those
denaturalized due to participation in Nazi persecutions or who
voluntarily renounced their citizenship as part of a settlement with
the Attorney General related to participating in Nazi persecution.
The bill also makes sure that these individuals do not receive
spousal benefits due to a marriage to a Social Security beneficiary.
[[Page H8233]]
Lastly, the bill requires the Attorney General to certify to the Ways
and Means Committee and Finance Committee that Social Security has been
notified of all those whose benefits should be terminated due to
participation in Nazi persecutions. It also requires the Commissioner
of Social Security to certify that benefits were terminated.
This legislation is currently cosponsored by over 47 Members of the
Congress. Also, letters of support have been received from some of the
following organizations: The Association of Mature American Citizens,
B'nai B'rith International, Jewish Federations of North America, J
Street, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare,
Republican Jewish Coalition, Strengthen Social Security Coalition, and
the Zionist Organization of America.
Mr. Speaker, I insert these letters in the Record as well.
American Jewish Committee,
Global Jewish Advocacy,
Washington, DC, November 24, 2014.
Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Becerra, I write
on behalf of AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, to
urge your support of legislation to deny federal benefits to
individuals who participated in Nazi persecution. There are
two House measures that seek to accomplish this: the Nazi
Social Security Benefits Termination Act of 2014, introduced
by Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Leonard Lance, and Jason
Chaffetz, and the No Social Security for Nazis Act,
introduced by Representatives Sam Johnson and Xavier Becerra.
For many years, Nazi extermination camp personnel and
others who found refuge in the United States after World War
II--individuals who perpetrated some of the worst crimes
known to humanity, including the execution of millions of
innocent civilians--have received various benefits, including
Social Security payments, from the United States government.
While the number of Nazi recipients of Social Security
payments may not be large, the continuance of this practice
is an intolerable insult to those, living and dead, who
suffered at the hands of the Nazis, is an affront to American
taxpayers, and contradicts our nation's core values.
The Nazi Social Security Benefits Termination Act will deny
receipt of federal benefits to those who were accused of
taking part in Nazi criminal acts and were either stripped of
their citizenship or voluntarily renounced it. The No Social
Security for Nazis Act amends the Social Security Act to
cease payments to those stripped of U.S. citizenship as a
result of participation in Nazi activities, and those who
voluntarily renounced citizenship due to such participation.
The United States should not be lending material support to
individuals whose crimes were so egregious that a new word
had to be coined to describe them: genocide. On behalf of
AJC, I urge you to support legislation to deny federal
benefits to individuals who participated in Nazi persecution.
Thank you for considering our views on this important
matter.
Respectfully,
Jason Isaacson.
____
Association of
Mature American Citizens,
November 20, 2014.
Hon. Sam Johnson,
House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Orrin Hatch,
U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Xavier Becerra,
House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Ron Wyden,
U.S. Senate, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Representatives Johnson and Becerra and Senators Hatch
and Wyden, on behalf of the 1.2 million members of AMAC, the
Association of Mature American Citizens, I am writing in
strong support of the ``No Social Security for Nazis Act.''
This critical bipartisan, bicameral bill is needed to address
a loophole in the law that has enabled Holocaust perpetrators
to wrongly collect Social Security benefits at the expense of
American taxpayers and seniors.
The World must never forget the atrocities committed by the
Nazis or the millions of innocent Jews that were callously
murdered during the Holocaust. For that reason, Congress has
a responsibility to ensure that war criminals no longer
benefit from U.S. government programs. Therefore, the ``No
Social Security for Nazis Act'' justly amends the Social
Security Act and puts an end to Nazis receiving Social
Security payouts.
On a broader scale, AMAC believes it is imperative for
Congress to continue to protect Social Security for rightful
beneficiaries. Mature Americans and seniors overwhelmingly
depend on Social Security to help supplement their retirement
income; yet, according to the Trustees of Social Security,
the program remains at risk of becoming insolvent by 2030.
Clearly, Social Security cannot sustain its current fiscal
path without comprehensive reform. AMAC strongly urges
Congress to take immediate action to save Social Security and
to guarantee its existence for future generations of hard-
working Americans.
Although Social Security as a whole is in need of real
legislative attention, AMAC is proud to see Congress working
together on this particular issue to right a terrible wrong.
Thanks to your concern for this significant matter, AMAC is
pleased to support the ``No Social Security for Nazis Act.''
Sincerely,
Dan Weber,
President and Founder of AMAC.
____
B'nai B'rith International,
November 24, 2014.
Hon. Sam Johnson,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Xavier Becerra,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Becerra: On behalf
of B'nai B'rith International's hundreds of thousands of
members and supporters, we write to express our support for
your bill, H.R. 5739, the ``No Social Security for Nazis
Act.'' This bill, which amends the Social Security Act, will
end Social Security payments to Nazi perpetrators who
denaturalized and left the country many years ago as a result
of their Nazi pasts. This important change in the law will
treat this subgroup of Nazis in the same way as deported
Nazis--who are already barred from receiving Social Security
benefits.
We appreciate the deliberation and care that has gone into
this process, and the many members of both houses of Congress
who have worked in recent weeks to address this issue. The
``No Social Security for Nazis Act'' will accomplish our
shared goal of ending the payments while amending the Social
Security statute directly, thereby ensuring that the many
facets of social security benefit access are treated
properly.
Although Social Security is an earned benefit for American
workers, this change would apply only to individuals who
misrepresented their pasts when entering this country and
applying for citizenship. Nazi perpetrators should not be
allowed to continue to benefit from the lies they told long
ago. Those who have so defiled the most basic of social
contracts should not be allowed to receive these benefits any
longer. We believe this step is necessary and appropriate,
and encourage both houses of Congress to take up these bills
expeditiously. We thank you for your leadership on this
matter and urge each Member of Congress to join you in
quickly enacting this legislation.
Sincerely,
Allan J. Jacobs,
President.
Daniel S. Mariaschin,
Executive Vice President.
____
The Jewish Federations'
of North America,
November 24, 2014.
Hon. Sam Johnson,
Chairman;
Hon. Xavier Becerra,
Ranking Member, Committee on Ways and Means Social Security
Subcommittee, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Becerra: We write
to express our support for your leadership in introducing
H.R. 5739, legislation that would terminate Social Security
benefits for Nazi persecutors who receive such benefits
because of a loophole in current law.
The Jewish Federations of North America (``JFNA'') is the
national organization that represents 153 Jewish Federations,
and 300 independent network communities that are the umbrella
fundraising organization as well as the central planning and
coordinating body for an extensive network of Jewish health,
education, and social service agencies. The JFNA system
raises and allocates funds for almost one thousand affiliated
agencies that provide needed services to almost one million
individuals throughout the country. As an organization that
has been a tireless advocate to secure and provide needed
support for the over 100,000 Holocaust survivors in the U.S,
JFNA applauds your efforts to end benefits for war criminals
that persecuted millions of innocents during the Holocaust.
It is encouraging that so many of your colleagues have
joined in your effort to close this egregious loophole in
current law. We will urge all of our partners in the Jewish
community to work with you to ensure that H.R. 5739 is
enacted during this legislative session.
Sincerely yours,
William C. Daroff,
Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Director of the
Washington Office.
____
J Street.
J Street applauds the introduction of the No Social
Security for Nazis Act (H.R. 5739), led by Chairman Sam
Johnson (R-TX-3) and Ranking Member Xavier Becerra (D-CA-34),
which would change the Social Security Act to prevent those
who participated in Nazi persecution from receiving social
security benefits. We commend the strong bipartisan support
for the bill and urge its swift passage by Congress.
[[Page H8234]]
____
National Committee to Preserve
Social Security and Medicare,
Washington, DC, November 20, 2014.
Hon. Sam Johnson,
Longworth House Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Johnson: On behalf of the millions of members
and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social
Security and Medicare, I am writing to express our support of
your bill, H.R. 5739, the ``No Social Security for Nazis
Act.''
This bill amends the Social Security Act to close a
loophole that allows some Nazis who gained U.S. citizenship
through fraud and deception to continue receiving Social
Security benefits even though they have been stripped of
their citizenship and have been removed from our country.
While the individuals who will be affected by this bill
worked and contributed to Social Security, they gained the
right to do so by lying on their applications for citizenship
about the nature of their roles in the Nazi holocaust during
World War II.
These war criminals should not be allowed to continue to
reap the fruits of their dishonesty, and on behalf of all of
our members, we commend you for your leadership in bringing
this travesty to an end. We urge all Members of Congress to
join you in enacting this important legislation.
Sincerely,
Max Richtman,
President and CEO.
____
Republican Jewish Coalition,
Washington, DC, November 24, 2014.
Hon. Sam Johnson,
Chairman, House Subcommittee on Social Security, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Johnson: I'm writing to thank you for
introducing H.R. 5732, the No Social Security for Nazis Act,
and to encourage you and your colleagues on the House Ways
and Means committee to press for enactment of legislation to
close this newly discovered loophole in current law this
year.
As you've noted, during prior Congresses, action had been
taken to cancel Social Security benefits for individuals
determined to have participated in Nazi war crimes. In light
of recent news reports detailing how a number of individuals
in this category have maneuvered to maintain their access to
benefits, it is clear that a fix is needed.
H.R. 5732 ensures that Nazi war criminals who voluntarily
renounced their citizenship and left the country prior to an
impending deportation action cannot retain Social Security
benefits they would otherwise have lost and blocks such
individuals' access to spousal benefits.
We are encouraged by the breadth of bipartisan support for
remedial legislation targeting this loophole. On behalf of
the Republican Jewish Coalition's 40,000 members, I salute
you for your leadership in quickly moving to solve the
problem that has recently come to light.
Sincerely,
Noah Silverman,
Congressional Affairs Director,
Republican Jewish Coalition.
____
Strengthen Social Security,
Washington, DC.
House Committee on Ways and Means,
House of Representatives,
Longworth Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Camp, Ranking Member Levin, Chairman Johnson,
and Ranking Member Becerra: The Strengthen Social Security
Coalition, which is comprised of over 350 national and
statewide organizations including women's, labor, veterans,
aging, and civil rights groups appreciate your timely
introduction of the No Social Security for Nazi's Act (H.R.
5739).
It is under unfortunate extraordinary circumstances that a
group of individuals involved in Nazi persecutions have been
receiving Social Security benefits. These war criminals
should never have been allowed to enter the United States and
should never have received Social Security benefits. The
bipartisan legislation that has been introduced presents a
solution for this extraordinary circumstance and respects the
hard work and contribution of Americans who have earned their
benefits. Thank you for defending the Social Security
benefits that have been earned by the American people.
Sincerely,
Eric Kingson,
Coalition Co-Chair.
Nancy Altman,
Coalition Co-Chair.
____
Zionist Organization of America,
Washington, DC, November 20, 2014.
Hon. Sam Johnson,
Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman,
Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC.
Congressman Johnson: The Zionist Organization of America
(ZOA), the oldest and one of the largest pro-Israel
organizations in the United States, strongly supports H.R.
5739, the No Social Security for Nazis Act. It is a travesty
that through the loophole of passive enforcement, deported
aliens who have been found to have lied about their wartime
activities continue to receive Social Security from the US
government. We applaud the bi-partisan group of Congressmen
and their Senate counterparts who are seeking to close this
loophole during the November and December congressional
sessions before Congress adjourns for the year.
The process to identify those who participated in the World
War II persecution of Jews was legally rigorous, but
ultimately failed to achieve all of its objectives as long as
the Nazis who fraudulently entered our country following the
war continue to benefit during their advanced years from the
fraud they committed against our country. This legislation
will repair this defect. The ZOA urges its adoption in both
houses of Congress and the swift signing into law of the
prohibition of Social Security Payments to those found to be
part of the Nazi atrocity machinery.
The ZOA commends Members of Congress of both parties who
support this legislation.
Morton Klein,
National President,
Zionist Organization of America.
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. For many years a loophole has allowed those
who perpetrated horrific crimes against humanity to receive benefits
paid by the United States Government. While the number of Nazi
recipients of Social Security benefits may be few now, allowing
payments to continue is an inexcusable insult to those who suffered at
the hands of the Nazis.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members of the House to vote ``yes'' and pass
the No Social Security to Nazis Act today so the Senate can take action
soon and that the President can sign it into law without delay.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Let me begin, Mr. Speaker, by thanking my colleague, but, more
importantly, my dear friend, Mr. Sam Johnson from Texas, for the work
that he did to move so quickly working with his able staff to try to
make sure we had a bill come before us. I also want to make sure that I
salute the staff on this side of the aisle for the work they did in
partnership to make sure that we could quickly put a bill on the floor
of this House that could address what all of us agree is a glaring
omission.
And so I am pleased to stand here to say, Mr. Speaker, that we have a
bill that not only will take care of those dollars that Americans
contributed to Social Security on a daily basis as they go to work and
pay into the system, but it also will protect the dollars that so many
Americans now rely on to receive their benefits.
Today, Mr. Speaker, 160 million Americans work and pay into Social
Security. They know that because they do that their families will be
protected if they happen to die or if they happen to become disabled or
if they decide to retire. Now, for most of the 58 million Americans who
are already retired or currently receiving Social Security benefits of
some sort, that Social Security benefit is the most important source of
income for them.
One of the greatest privileges we have as Americans living here in
the U.S. is the opportunity to work and earn this Social Security
protection for ourselves and for our families.
We recently learned, as Mr. Johnson has mentioned, that Nazi war
criminals and collaborators slipped through a loophole in our laws and
began receiving Social Security benefits. The record is clear: Congress
never intended for the perpetrators of the Holocaust--the systematic,
bureaucratic, state-sponsored murder of more than 6 million Jews and
millions of other innocents--to be allowed to enter the U.S., let alone
to participate in Social Security. It has been our longstanding policy
that when Nazi persecutors who came under false pretenses are
discovered that they be deported and stripped of all their privileges
of U.S. citizenship and residency, including, of course, Social
Security.
I am pleased to be here today because today what we are saying is we
are ready to act. This legislation will tightly close the loophole that
allows some individuals to use and retain Social Security benefits even
after their Holocaust crimes have been proven and their citizenship has
been revoked. As the chairman has mentioned, and as we are trying to
make clear today, it is critically important that we make everyone
aware that when you work for Social Security, you have earned it, and
only then will you get it. So when someone comes in, uses a loophole,
tries to take advantage, and then believes that they can get away with
it, we want to be able to act quickly and make it clear that it will
never happen again. We want those safeguards to be in place for
everyone who has been working hard and paying into Social
[[Page H8235]]
Security for years and years. They are the ones that own it, not people
who have defrauded our government.
Like past Congresses, we believe that we must act quickly because the
issue of the Holocaust is not unresolved in our minds. We know what we
must do to anyone who perpetrated those heinous acts. We must act as
quickly as we can. And so, Mr. Speaker, I say with a great deal of
pride and friendship that I stand with the chairman of the Social
Security Subcommittee today, Mr. Sam Johnson, to urge my colleagues to
join us in closing this loophole now before Social Security has to pay
another dime to a Nazi war criminal.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Thank you, Mr. Becerra. I appreciate your
remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee
(Mrs. Black), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
Mrs. BLACK. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding to me.
Mr. Speaker, for many today, the heinous acts of the Nazi party in
the World War II era are a story relegated to the history books and
museums. But the fact is some of these war criminals are still alive,
and they are even getting a monthly check from Uncle Sam.
An Associated Press investigation found that dozens of Nazi suspects
have collected Social Security benefits due to a loophole in our laws.
And the cost to the taxpayers has reportedly reached into the millions.
Seniors in my district already have concerns about the future of
Social Security. The last thing that they want to see is their
government using scarce taxpayer dollars for this purpose. That is why
I was proud to cosponsor Congressman Sam Johnson's No Social Security
for Nazis Act, legislation to cut off benefits to anyone stripped of
their U.S. citizenship related to their participation in Nazi crimes.
No act of Congress could ever make right the atrocities of the
Holocaust or bring justice to its 6 million victims. But ending the
flow of the payments to those human rights violators would sure be a
step in the right direction.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for his good work on
this issue and this bipartisan measure and look forward to voting in
support.
Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, we are expecting another speaker, but I
reserve the balance of my time and let the gentleman from Texas proceed
if he has another speaker.
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance).
{time} 1245
Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge passage of H.R. 5739,
the No Social Security for Nazis Act, which will correct an injustice
of two generations and right a terrible wrong in the name of the lives
that were lost as a result of the Holocaust.
To think Nazis are receiving Social Security benefits derived from
tax receipts of the American people is sickening and morally wrong.
Today, Congress will move to put an end to it.
This effort was originally championed in the 1990s by my predecessor
from the district I have the honor of serving, the late Congressman Bob
Franks, and I am proud to continue his effort and see this legislation
pass on the floor of the House today.
The United States, including my home State of New Jersey, stands in
solidarity with the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and the
decades-long struggle for peace in the world following the Nazi
atrocities.
This action is yet another step in demonstrating that our resolve for
justice is unyielding and our commitment to pursue what is right
continues even 70 years after World War II.
I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York City,
for her leadership on this issue and for asking me to cosponsor the
original bill that she had initiated. I also thank Congressman Sam
Johnson and the Ways and Means Committee for taking up this effort.
The world can never forget the hate and intolerance of the 1930s and
1940s that claimed the lives of millions of people of the Jewish faith
and forever scarred the face of mankind. Let this effort be another
chapter in the healing that has brought vigor to the pursuit of
justice, attention and care to all human suffering and the work toward
a world of greater understanding and peace.
When given the chance to put an end to an egregious practice, we must
act. I urge passage today of this important piece of legislation.
Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), who has been very active on this
issue.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the
gentleman for yielding, and I thank my friend and colleague on the
other side of the aisle, Leonard Lance, for coming to New York, for
working in meetings, and for advancing this issue before the Social
Security Administration and also the Justice Department.
Mr. Speaker, for decades, former Nazis complicit in war crimes have
been given monthly Social Security benefit checks due to a loophole in
the law. It is an outrage that began at the end of World War II, when
thousands of Nazis fled to the United States.
Many lied about their past, so that they could become American
citizens, take jobs, and try to just blend in, but most were eventually
identified and deported, and some were tried for their crimes; however,
dozens were never formally deported. If a former Nazi left the U.S. on
his own before a final order of removal was issued, the law allowed him
to keep receiving his Social Security benefits.
As the author of the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act of 1998, which
opened up all of the files of the CIA on the Nazis and what they were
doing in the United States and in Europe, I have been working on this
issue for decades.
In 1991, I cowrote a bill to close this loophole by creating a new
legal process to terminate benefits. Earlier this year, I wrote the
Social Security Administration, seeking more information on former
Nazis who continue to receive Social Security benefits. They will be
issuing a report to me and others on exactly how much money is
involved.
After an investigative report by the Associated Press revealed new
details of Nazis receiving Social Security benefits, I wrote to the IG
of the Justice Department and have had meetings with them and the
Social Security Administration to investigate exactly how this all
occurred.
I also worked with my colleagues, Republican Congressmen Leonard
Lance of New Jersey and Jason Chaffetz of Utah, to craft the Nazi
Benefits Termination Act of 2014. It was supported by editorials across
this Nation. We received a total of 19 editorials in support of our
bill.
In the interest of time, I will just put in the Record roughly five
of them because I think it is important that across this Nation, from
the South, the West, the East, the North, all of them have come out
strongly in support of not spending one taxpayer dime to support Nazis.
The Ways and Means Committee took on this same effort. Our bills are
similar, and either would be sufficient to address the problem. Both
would affirmatively declare individuals who have been denaturalized or
renounced citizenship on the grounds of participation in Nazi
persecution ineligible for Social Security benefits.
I urge my colleagues to end this outrage, close this loophole, and
send a message that when we say we will never forget, we mean we will
never forget and that we will stop this terrible abuse of taxpayer
money going to Social Security benefits for Nazis.
I commend all of my colleagues who have worked on this important
issue.
[From mydailynews.com]
No SSNs for the SS
A search for some small measure of justice will go on as
long as Nazi war criminals remain alive and unpunished. Never
mind that almost seven decades have passed since they
participated in the Holocaust. Never mind that they are well
up in years, perhaps approaching 100.
The outrage is that some of the guilty are living out their
last days with the help of Social Security payments sent out
by Uncle Sam.
After World War II, former SS death camp guards and others
made their way to America in the hope of leaving their crimes
behind. Rather than fight to boot the group, the government
made odious deals: If they left the country, they would keep
their Social Security benefits.
As reported by the Associated Press, troops who worked in
the camps, a rocket scientist
[[Page H8236]]
accused of using slave labor to do his research, a Polish
Nazi collaborator who facilitated the murder of thousands of
Jews and others fled and kept their cash.
At least four are still alive--and collecting. Rep. Carolyn
Maloney said she will draft legislation to strip benefits
from Nazis.
Better late than never.
____
[From the Dallas Morning News, Oct. 22, 2014]
Shameful Social Security Benefits for Expelled Nazis
Jakob Denzinger gets about $1,500 a month in Social
Security payments, but the 90-year-old retiree isn't a
typical senior citizen.
He's a former Auschwitz guard and one-time Ohio businessman
who is now living comfortably overseas on U.S. Social
Security benefits. His monthly check is nearly twice the
take-home pay of an average worker in Croatia, where he
lives. This for a man who patrolled one of the Nazi regime's
most infamous death camps. It is an outrageous affront;
Congress should no longer tolerate it.
An Associated Press investigation published over the
weekend found that the U.S. Justice Department secretly used
the promise of continued retirement payments to persuade
dozens of Nazi suspects in the U.S. to leave. If they agreed
to go quietly, or fled before deportation, as Denzinger did
in 1989, they could retain their benefits. In return, the
Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations avoided
messy deportation hearings and increased the number of former
Nazis it expelled.
Just how many Nazis cashed in isn't known. However, its
stomach-turning to know that Nazi war criminals are receiving
retirement benefits, just like your father or grandfather who
fought to end the Nazi reign of terror. No accountability.
Just a quiet retirement with a steady stream of government
checks for Hitler's henchmen.
Americans deserve answers. The AP traces the program to
1979 and says at least 38 of 66 suspected Nazis removed from
the country since then kept receiving their retirement
benefits. By March 1999, the AP reports, 28 suspected Nazi
criminals living overseas had amassed $1.5 million in Social
Security benefits. That's probably just the tip of the
iceberg, but Social Security and Justice Department officials
aren't talking.
We acknowledge that there is scant appetite in Europe or
the United States to bring these aging men to trial. However,
neither is there good reason for the U.S. to continue
subsidizing their golden years. The deaths of millions should
never be forgotten or bought off. With anti-Semitism again on
the rise in Europe, sweeping these cases under the rug is the
wrong way to signal to the world that we will never forget
Nazi atrocities.
Congress turned its back on previous measures to stop
payments to keep from offending diplomatic sensibilities or
slowing down the Justice Department's expulsion efforts. It's
time for this insult to end. A White House spokesman says the
president, rightly, wants the benefits stopped, and Rep.
Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., has called for an inquiry into the
actions of Justice Department and Social Security officials;
she also plans to introduce legislation to halt the payments.
It is unconscionable to reward those accused of such
horrific crimes. Congress should act now to strip them of
their benefits.
____
[From registerguard.com]
The headline on The Associated Press story read like
something one would see on the front page of a tabloid
newspaper at a supermarket checkout stand: ``Nazis who left
U.S. still paid Social Security.'' The difference is, the
story apparently is true.
The AP reported Sunday that since 1979 ``dozens of
suspected Nazi war criminals and SS guards collected millions
of dollars in Social Security benefits after being forced out
of the United States.'' The report said at least four of the
38 known beneficiaries are still alive, including a former
concentration camp guard who left Arizona and returned to
Germany in 2007, just before being stripped of his U.S.
citizenship, and a former guard at Auschwitz who fled Ohio in
1989, after learning ``denaturalization'' proceedings were
under way against him, and settled in Croatia.
State Department officials said the Justice Department used
the continuation of Social Security benefits as a carrot to
get the Germans to voluntarily give up their U.S.
citizenship, and to avoid lengthy deportation hearings. A
spokesman for the Justice Department denied that Social
Security payments were thus used.
At the time the Justice Department had a Nazi-hunting unit,
the Office of Special Investigations, that was dedicated to
expelling as many former Nazis as possible, preferably to
countries where they would be prosecuted for war crimes,
although only 10 were.
The AP said the payments were made possible by a
``loophole'' in the law but provided no specifics. The Social
Security Administration denied an AP request for the number
of suspects who received payments and the amounts they
received, saying it doesn't track Nazi cases.
On Monday, Rep. Carol Maloney, D-NY, sent letters to the
inspectors general of the Justice Department and the Social
Security Administration demanding that the Obama
administration investigate the payments, which she called a
``gross misuse of taxpayer dollars.'' But the son of the
former Auschwitz guard, Jakob Denzinger, told The AP his
father had earned the benefit payments and deserves to
continue receiving them.
Did the former Nazi guards who simply carried out orders,
however immoral or heinous, absolve themselves by becoming
upstanding, law-abiding, tax-paying U.S. citizens during the
70 years since World War II ended? Some will say yes but many
others would argue their crimes can never be forgiven. For
most Americans, knowing that taxpayer-funded retirement
benefits are being given to people who surrendered their U.S.
citizenship, and who played a direct role in the worst human-
caused catastrophe in history, isn't going to sit right. And
it shouldn't.
It sounds as if Maloney, who's a high-ranking member of the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is bent on
closing whatever ``loophole'' has allowed the Social Security
payments to continue to be sent overseas. The millions that
have already been paid are gone and not likely to be
recoverable but the thousands not yet paid could still be
withheld. It shouldn't take an act of Congress to scotch such
a grievous insult to American taxpayers--but apparently it
will.
____
[From the Sun Sentinel, Nov. 30, 2014]
Nazi Criminals Getting Benefits? Yes, It's True
Congress has finally found something its members can agree
on.
It's important, it's bipartisan and it's hellacious enough
to make you wonder how such a practice could have been
allowed to continue, with the blessing of the U.S.
government, no less.
But now, a group of lawmakers--including Florida Democratic
Sen. Bill Nelson--has introduced legislation that would strip
suspected Nazi war criminals of the Social Security benefits
they've been receiving for having agreed to leave this
country and live overseas.
You read that right
Hard as it is to believe, an investigation by the
Associated Press found that dozens of Nazi suspects who made
their way to the U.S. have been receiving retirement benefits
with taxpayer money. And if they agreed to leave the country
quietly, or before a deportation action, the Justice
Department said they could keep these benefits. That way, the
government could avoid ugly deportation hearings and increase
the number of former Nazis expelled.
Outrageous? You bet.
And it's been going on for years, with your money.
The AP traced the program to 1979, and said at least 38 of
66 suspected Nazis removed from the country since that time
kept receiving retirement benefits. By March 1999, the report
said 28 suspected Nazi criminals living overseas had amassed
$1.5 million in Social Security benefits. The number is
certainly much larger by now.
Now comes the Nazi Social Security Benefits Termination
Act, in response to the revelations. Nelson is one of the
sponsors of the Senate version. The legislation would end
benefits for Nazi suspects who have lost American
citizenship. Congress is hoping to get the legislation
finalized during the current lame-duck session.
``Our bill will eliminate the loophole that has allowed
Nazi war criminals to collect Social Security benefits,''
said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. She also has called for an
inquiry into the actions of Justice Department and Social
Security officials.
Remember, we're talking about Nazi war criminals here,
people involved in the horrific death camps where millions
died.
As an example, Jakob Denzinger, 90, has been getting about
$1,500 a month in Social Security payments. He is a former
Auschwitz guard and a one-time Ohio businessman. According to
the AP, some other recipients of Social Security participated
in the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto, oversaw the use of
slave labor and helped with the round-up and killing of
thousands of Jews.
It defies all sensibilities to learn that these payments
have been going on for decades. Now that they've come to
light, President Obama says he wants them, stopped. The
proposed legislation would do just that.
``This legislation is long overdue,'' said Abraham Foxman,
national director of the Anti-Defamation League, ``and we are
pleased that lawmakers in Congress are taking this
seriously.''
A serious investigation also is needed into how this
happened to begin with.
____
[From the Pueblo Chieftain, Oct. 23, 2014]
Closing an Abhorrent Loophole
FOR ONCE, we actually do agree with the White House and the
Congress.
But it's hard to find fault when the president's spokesman
says it's past time to cut off Social Security benefits for
former Nazis who are living and aging overseas. Or with
Congressional plans to solve the problem.
``Our position is we don't believe these individuals should
be getting these benefits,'' White House Spokesman Eric
Schultz said Monday.
That's a bit of an understatement. Rather, we find it
astounding these suspected murderers and thugs got benefits--
much less the millions of taxpayer dollars reported by the
Associated Press--in the first place.
As a bit of background, the AP reported last week that
dozens of suspected Nazis have collected benefits after being
driven out
[[Page H8237]]
of the United States. Though their World War II actions led
to their departure, they were never convicted of war crimes.
While the exact number of beneficiaries--or the total
taxpayer-underwritten benefit they received--has not been
released, the list included SS troops who guarded Nazi
concentration camps, a rocket scientist accused of using
slave labor to advance his research in the Third Reich and a
Nazi collaborator who allegedly engineered the arrest and
execution of thousands of Jews in Poland, according to the
Associated Press.
They fled their home countries after the war and set up
residency here.
A legal loophole gave the Justice Department leverage to
persuade the Nazi suspects to leave the U.S. If they did, or
if they simply fled prior to deportation, they could keep
their Social Security benefit, the AP reported.
And in this rare instance, Washington's response has been
both swift and appropriate. Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New
York--a ranking member of the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee--called on the Obama administration to
investigate the payments. The Democrat called them a ``gross
misuse of taxpayer dollars.''
And yesterday, Sens. Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Bob Casey,
D-PA, announced plans to introduce legislation to close the
loophole that allowed for the payments. A joint press release
issued by the pair reflects that the bill would also provide
direction to federal immigration judges adjudicating cases
involving a suspected Nazi persecutors.
New York's Rep. Maloney plans on carrying that bill in the
U.S. House.
At least four of these suspected criminals are still living
comfortably on the taxpayer dole. They are doing so via a
social service safety net that is now financially failing.
That is a totally unacceptable and abhorrent misuse of our
funds. We are pleased to see Congress is acting to fix the
problem, even if--given the ages of the surviving
recipients--it is too late to result in substantial savings.
We strongly encourage each member of Colorado's
congressional delegation to support the legislation. Be bold.
Take a stance for the taxpayers, the citizens in need, the
survivors and the millions who perished at the hands of these
suspected criminals and their contemporaries.
Pass this law and close the loophole.
Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time, and
I think it is important to close on a particular note. I don't think it
gets lost on the chairman or me that, when we sit as the chairman and
ranking member on the Social Security Subcommittee, we have a major
responsibility, and that is to make sure that what people expect when
they allow a good chunk of money to come out of their paycheck, it is
going to be used for what they believe, and that is for Social Security
benefits for those who have earned them.
When something like this comes along and you find out that someone
found out a way to circumvent the laws and the process and take
advantage of getting dollars out of America that have been put in for
the purpose of providing security to those who retire or become
disabled or who die, it really makes you want to act, but when you
realize that, on top of that, the folks who are gaming the system are
folks who should never have been in this country in the first place
because they committed heinous crimes and were perpetrators of some of
the worst evils we have seen in our history, then it makes you want to
work doubly fast.
At a time when we deal with major issues and oftentimes have
challenges in reaching agreement, the American people should watch for
a second because, in this case, we are coming together to say that we
understand the purpose of Social Security.
It is important to extend a thank you to the chairman of the Social
Security Subcommittee for making sure that, before we ended this year
and before we ended this session, we had an opportunity to put our vote
on the floor saying, ``No, if you don't earn your benefits, you won't
get them, and if you shouldn't have been here in the first place, then
you certainly shouldn't get Social Security as well.''
It is important to get this done, and we hope the Senate will act
quickly. Hopefully, before too long, the President will have an
opportunity to sign this, and forever, we will be able to say that we
know that no perpetrator of the Holocaust will ever have an opportunity
to steal Social Security from those who worked hard to earn it.
With that, Mr. Speaker, and thanking the staff on both sides of the
aisle for the work they have done so diligently and to my friend and
chairman, Mr. Johnson, I say thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume, and I thank Mr. Becerra.
It takes two to tango, and fortunately, we have a compatible interest
on this committee. I thank Ranking Member Xavier Becerra and his staff
for working with us on this important legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members of the House to vote ``yes'' and pass
the No Social Security for Nazis Act today, so the Senate can take
action soon and that the President can sign it into law without delay.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5739.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________