[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8466]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                SSI FRAUGHT WITH WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, in the 1970s, the Federal Government created 
the SSI program to assist the elderly, the blind and the disabled. 
Since the 1970s, the program has become fraught with waste, fraud and 
abuse. Prisoners, illegal aliens and drug addicts all drain resources 
from this program. Saddest of all, parents are getting their children 
to lie in order to bilk SSI benefits from the government.
  For example, two parents in Michigan had their children lie to 
doctors about their medical condition so they could receive $42,639 in 
SSI benefits per year. Meanwhile, they locked their children in the 
basement of their home, physically abused them and forced them to steal 
for them.
  The Federal Government should not be subsidizing child abusers, 
especially with taxpayer moneys reserved for the elderly and the 
disabled. As we decide spending levels in our budget, let us also focus 
on eliminating waste, fraud and abuse from the Federal Government.

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