Mr. President. over the years the Congress has crafted ad hoe qualifications in Federal benefit statutes. At times. due to congressional inaccuracy or expansive court interpretations. these statutes have been used to provide Federal financial benefits to illegal aliens. This situation has led to the payment of Social Security benefits. health care benefits and housing benefits to individuals who have no legal right to even be in the United States. If enacted. this amendment will end the uncertainty once and for all. Studies focusing on this problem point toward an alarming and potentially dangerous drain on the Nations financial resources if the payments are allowed to continue as they have in the past. In 1986 the Social Security Administration reported that it paid more than $17 million to illegal aliens from Social Security funds. The Social Security Administration estimated that by the year 2026. it could pay more than $8 billion in Social Security payments a year to illegal aliens each and every year. This financial problem goes beyond the Federal level to the State. county and local governments as well. In 1983 the Arizona Hospital Association estimated that its taxpayers absorbed $4.4 million a year in unpaid hospital expense for illegal alien patients. It estimated this increased the costs of paying patients an average of $10.10 per day. A 1980 study revealed that in Los Angeles County. CA. illegal aliens apply for $36 million in State social services each year. Some of these California State services were financed with Federal dollars. In an era of massive Federal deficits. even small instances of waste. fraud and abuse cannot be tolerated.
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illegal alien illegal aliens