[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     the individual to citizenship has been revoked and set aside 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.

                          ____________________