[House Report 106-321]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                                       
106th Congress                                            Rept. 106-321
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     Part 1

======================================================================



 
                 NAZI BENEFITS TERMINATION ACT OF 1999

                                _______
                                

               September 14, 1999.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______


 Mr. Hyde, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1788]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 1788) to deny Federal public benefits to individuals 
who participated in Nazi persecution, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                           TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                  

                                                                 Page
Purpose and Summary........................................           1
Background and Need for the Legislation....................           2
Hearings...................................................           2
Committee Consideration....................................           2
Committee Oversight Findings...............................           2
Committee on Government Reform Findings....................           2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures..................           3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate..................           3
Constitutional Authority Statement.........................           4
Section-by-Section Analysis................................           4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported......           5

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 1788, the Nazi Benefits Termination Act of 1999 (the 
``Act''), renders individuals who are determined to have been 
participants in Nazi persecution ineligible for federal public 
benefits.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    The Department of Justice's Office of Special 
Investigations (OSI) is responsible for investigating former 
Nazi persecutors who entered and established residence in the 
United States under false pretenses after the Second World War. 
In many cases OSI investigations lead to formal 
denaturalization and deportation proceedings that result in 
loss of federal public benefits, but in some cases former Nazi 
persecutors, once discovered, leave the United States 
voluntarily for fear of public disclosure and deportation. 
Those who leave voluntarily may continue to receive federal 
public benefits.
    Records cited by Congressman Franks, the author of H.R. 
1788, indicate that over the past few decades, a total of 
forty-four individuals who were charged as former Nazi 
persecutors have collected Social Security benefits, and eight 
such individuals continue to receive such benefits as of June 
1999. In addition, OSI continues to pursue hundreds of 
additional individuals who are believed to have participated in 
Nazi persecution and are still living in the United States. 
Without H.R. 1788, former Nazi persecutors who evade final 
deportation orders may continue to receive federal public 
benefits for many years.
    Under H.R. 1788, an immigration judge may hold a hearing to 
determine whether an individual was a participant in Nazi 
persecution, and the immigration judge's determination is 
subject to review by the Attorney General. If an individual is 
found to have been a participant in Nazi persecution, an 
immigration judge (or the Attorney General) shall issue an 
order prohibiting the individual from receiving federal public 
benefits, but the individual may appeal the order to the Court 
of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

                                Hearings

    No hearings were held on H.R. 1788.

                        Committee Consideration

    On June 22, 1999, the Subcommittee on Immigration and 
Claims met in open session and ordered favorably reported the 
bill H.R. 1788 by voice vote, a quorum being present. On July 
20, 1999, the Committee met in open session and ordered 
favorably reported the bill H.R. 1788 by voice vote, a quorum 
being present.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

                Committee on Government Reform Findings

    No findings or recommendations of the Committee on 
Government Reform were received as referred to in clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of House Rule XIII is inapplicable because 
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or 
increased tax expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.R. 1788, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 23, 1999.
Hon. Henry J. Hyde, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1788, the Nazi 
Benefits Termination Act of 1999.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Kathy 
Ruffing, who can be reached at 226-2820.
            Sincerely,
                                  Dan L. Crippen, Director.
H.R. 1788--Nazi Benefits Termination Act of 1999.
    H.R. 1788 would stiffen restrictions on payments of federal 
benefits to people who participated in Nazi persecution. Under 
current law, former Nazis are pursued by the Office of Special 
Investigations (OSI) in the Department of Justice and may 
ultimately be stripped of their legal immigrant or naturalized 
citizen status and made to leave the United States. At that 
time, they also lose eligibility for federal benefits. A 
handful of people, though, have short-circuited the OSI's 
investigation by leaving the United States in the midst of 
proceedings. Such people can then continue to collect Social 
Security (the only significant federal benefit that is sent to 
people living abroad). H.R. 1788 would permit the Attorney 
General to continue proceedings in such cases and allow 
respondents living overseas to participate by video conference. 
The bill would also clarify the law by directing that, because 
these are civil rather than criminal proceedings, the standard 
of proof required is a preponderance of the evidence; a few 
Circuits have demanded a higher standard.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1788 would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget. Based on information 
from the Department of Justice, CBO expects the number of 
people affected, and hence the savings in Social Security, to 
be very small. Effects on other benefit programs would be even 
tinier. Pay-as-you-go procedures would apply to this bill, but 
CBO estimates that the effects would not be significant.
    H.R. 1788 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Kathy Ruffing, 
who can be reached at 226-2820. This estimate was approved by 
Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in Article I, section 8, clause 1 of the 
Constitution.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1. Short Title.
    Section 1 provides that H.R. 1788 may be cited as the 
``Nazi Benefits Termination Act of 1999.''
Section 2. Denial of Federal Public Benefits to Nazi Persecutors.
    Section 2(a). Denial of Benefits. Section 2(a) provides 
that an individual who is determined to have been a participant 
in Nazi persecution is not eligible for federal public 
benefits.
    Section 2(b). Definitions. Section 2(b) defines the term 
``federal public benefit'' by reference to section 401 of the 
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 
of 1996, which limits the eligibility of some aliens for 
certain federal public benefits. The term ``participant in Nazi 
persecution'' is defined by reference to sections 212(a)(3)(E) 
and 237(a)(4)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 
1952, which renders certain participants in Nazi persecution or 
genocide inadmissible and deportable.
Section 3. Determination of Status as Nazi Persecutor.
    Section 3(a). Hearing by Immigration Judge. If the Attorney 
General has reason to believe that an individual who has 
applied for or is receiving a federal public benefit may have 
been a participant in Nazi persecution, she may provide for a 
hearing on the matter and may delegate the conduct of the 
hearing to an immigration judge.
    Section 3(b). Procedure. Section 3(b)(1) grants the 
respondent the right to appear at his hearing. Under section 
3(b)(1)(A), a respondent may appear in person if he is a United 
States citizen, a permanent resident alien, or present within 
the United States when the proceeding is initiated. Other 
respondents, under section 3(b)(1)(B), may appear by video 
conference. Section 3(b)(1)(C) provides that the Act shall not 
be construed to permit the return to the United States of an 
individual who is inadmissible as a Nazi persecutor under the 
Immigration and Nationality Act.
    Section 3(b)(2) provides the respondent at a hearing with 
the right to counsel (but at no expense to the federal 
government), and the rights to present evidence, cross-examine 
witnesses, and obtain the compulsory attendance of witnesses 
and presentation of evidence. Section 3(b)(3) provides that the 
rules of evidence at a hearing shall be the same rules 
applicable to removal proceedings before immigration judges.
    Section 3(c). Hearings, Findings and Conclusions, and 
Order. Section 3(c)(1) provides that an immigration judge shall 
make findings of fact and conclusions of law within 60 days 
after the end of a hearing. Section 3(c)(2)(A) provides that a 
finding that a respondent was a Nazi persecutor shall result in 
the prompt issuance of an order declaring the respondent 
ineligible for federal public benefits and prohibiting any 
person from providing such benefits, and the order shall be 
transmitted to governmental entities or persons providing such 
benefits. Section 3(c)(2)(B) provides that a finding that the 
respondent was not a Nazi persecutor shall result in an order 
dismissing the proceeding. Finally, section 3(c)(2)(C) provides 
that an order cutting off federal public benefits to a Nazi 
persecutor shall be effective on the date of issuance, but no 
person or entity shall be found to have provided benefits in 
violation of the Act unless it received actual notice of the 
order and had a reasonable opportunity to comply therewith.
    Section 3(d). Review by Attorney General. Section 3(d)(1) 
provides that the Attorney General may review any finding, 
conclusion, or order made by an immigration judge under the 
Act, and shall complete her review within 30 days after the 
finding, or order; otherwise, the finding, conclusion, or order 
shall be final. Section 3(d)(2) provides that when a final 
order is issued, the Attorney General shall cause the 
underlying findings of fact and conclusions of law, and a copy 
of the final order, to be served on the respondent involved.
    Section 3(e). Judicial Review. Any party aggrieved by a 
final order may obtain a review of the order by the United 
States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, by filing a 
petition for review within 30 days after the order is issued.
    Section 3(e). Issue and Claim Preclusion. In any 
administrative or judicial proceeding under the Act, the 
ordinary rules of issue preclusion and claim preclusion shall 
apply.
Section 4. Jurisdiction of United States Court of Appeals for the 
        Federal Circuit.
    Section 4 makes a conforming change in the law to ensure 
that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 
has jurisdiction over appeals brought under Section 3(e).

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change 
is proposed is shown in roman):

              SECTION 1295 OF TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE

Sec. 1295. Jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the 
                    Federal Circuit

    (a) The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal 
Circuit shall have exclusive jurisdiction--
            (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

            (13) of an appeal under section 506(c) of the 
        Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978; [and]
            (14) of an appeal under section 523 of the Energy 
        Policy and Conservation Act[.]; and
            (15) of an appeal from a final order issued under 
        the Nazi Benefits Termination Act of 1999.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

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