Mr. President. for the better part of 3 years I have been working to end an intolerable abuse of the supplemental security income program. By taking advantage of a loophole in this Nations immigration and social security laws. thousands of newly arrived aliens have in effect received "instant pensions." I am now pleasedto lend my support to section 504 of the conference report on H.R. 3236. which was overwhelmingly approved last week by the House and was approved subsequently by a voice vote of the Senate. When enacted into law. this provision should go a long way toward eliminating these abuses of the SSI program. On February 22. 1978. the General Accounting Office reported to the Congress that. during 1977. in just five States alone. newly arrived aliens received close to $72 million in SSI benefits. Only $16 million of this amount was paid to refugees. The GAO further found that of the total alien population receiving SSI. an estimated 63 percent had enrolled in the program during their first year of residency in this country. All told. 96 percent of those aliens receiving SSI had resided in the United States for 3 years or less from the time they began receiving benefits. Briefly. here is how the loophole works: Present immigration law requires that certain categories of aliens be "sponsored" for admission to the United States if they cannot establish financial independence. The sponsor (a U.S. citizen or permanent resident) executes an affidavit of support pledging that the alien will not become a public charge once admitted to this country. However. the courts have ruled that this affidavit of support is nothing but a moral obligation. not a legally binding document.
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Thousands of newly arrived aliens are abusing the supplemental security income program.