[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 147 (Thursday, December 4, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 5739, THE NO SOCIAL SECURITY FOR NAZIS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. YVETTE D. CLARKE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 04, 2014

  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, this week, I voted in support of 
H.R. 5739, the No Social Security for Nazis Act, of which I am proud 
original co sponsor.
  For decades now individuals who have been identified as Nazi war 
criminals have accessed their Social Security benefits, by means of a 
loophole in the Social Security Act. This loophole allowed those who 
were denaturalized, or those who voluntarily renounced their United 
States' citizenship, and left the country to avoid formal deportation 
proceedings, to continue receiving Social Security benefits.
  H.R. 5739 will close the loophole by amending the law to stop Social 
Security benefit payments to those denaturalized due to participation 
in Nazi persecutions or those who voluntarily renounced their 
citizenship as part of a settlement with the Attorney General related 
to their participation in Nazi persecution.
  Our country and the world will never forget the atrocities committed 
by the Nazi regime against millions of Jews and other targeted groups 
during World War II, nor should the perpetrators of these atrocities be 
allowed to continue to collect Social Security benefits due to a 
loophole in the law.
  My district in Brooklyn, New York, which is the Ninth Congressional 
District of New York, is home to one of the largest orthodox Jewish 
populations in the country as well as being home to the second largest 
Jewish population in the nation overall. I know that my constituents 
would feel reassured to know that this loophole has been closed.
  So, on behalf of my Jewish constituents and of all Americans, I want 
to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who joined me in 
supporting H.R. 5739, the No Social Security for Nazis Act.

                          ____________________