[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6424]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               FAIRNESS FOR LEGAL IMMIGRANTS ACT OF 1999

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I urge my Senate colleagues to support 
the Fairness for Legal Immigrants Act in order to restore the benefits 
unfairly eliminated by the 1996 welfare law.
  In 1996, Congress passed a so-called welfare reform law that 
drastically restricted the ability of legal immigrants to participate 
in public assistance programs. For the first time in history, legal 
immigrants were cut off from most federal aid. The law barred them from 
food stamps, SSI, and other benefits. It banned them for 5 years from 
AFDC, Medicaid, and other programs and gave states the option to 
permanently ban them from these programs.
  These provisions have had a devastating effect on immigrant families. 
Elderly and disabled immigrants were notified that they would be turned 
out of nursing homes or cut off from disability payments. Some even 
took their own lives, rather than burden their families. Far too many 
human tragedies have resulted from the law.
  Fortunately, many Members of Congress realized that the provisions 
had gone too far, and we passed legislation in the past two years to 
restore benefits for many. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the 
Agricultural Research Act of 1998 restored eligibility for Medicaid, 
SSI and Food Stamps for hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants.
  Nevertheless, many immigrants who came here legally are still 
suffering from restrictive provisions that remain in effect. The 
Fairness for Legal Immigrants Act is needed to bring back this safety 
net for immigrants who fall on hard times, especially those who are in 
great need, such as pregnant women, children, the elderly, the 
disabled, the poor, and victims of abuse.
  The Act will permit states to provide Medicaid to all eligible legal 
immigrant pregnant women and children. It will permit states to extend 
Medicaid to ``medically needy'' legal immigrants who are disabled but 
not on SSI. It will permit states to cover legal immigrant children 
under CHIP, if they are also providing Medicaid coverage for legal 
immigrant children.
  For legal immigrants who arrived before August 1996, the Act will 
restore SSI eligibility for those who are elderly and poor, but not 
disabled by SSI standards. It will also restore food stamp eligibility 
to all legal immigrants who have not yet had their eligibility 
restored, primarily parents of poor children.
  For legal immigrants who arrived after August 1996, the Act will 
restore SSI eligibility for those who become disabled after reaching 
the United States. Finally, the Act will exempt post-August 1996 legal 
immigrants who are victims of domestic or elder abuse from the five-
year ban on Medicaid and welfare assistance, and restore their 
eligibility for SSI and food stamps.
  These reforms are essential in order to fulfill our obligation to 
those who legally entered our country. Many of them are family members 
of American citizens. They play by the rules, pay their taxes, and 
deserve a fair chance to become citizens and build new lives for 
themselves and their families in America.
  I urge the Senate to support this important legislation, and I look 
forward to its early enactment.

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