Finally. we imposed a 3 year cutoff of SSI and disability insurance benefits for addicts and alcoholics. These changes enacted last year removed major incentives for abuse of the SS1 Program and encouraged rehabilitation. rather than lifelong dependency. Another stunning example of abuse of the SSI Program pertains to one of the major areas of growth in the SSI Program. namely. benefits for legal immigrants. Just last week. for exapnple. I released a GAO report finding that the Social Security Administration is not doing enough to crack down on fraud by translators who fraudulently assist legal immigrants qualify for SSI benefits. In one case. a middleman arrested for fraud had helped at least 240 immigrants obtain $7 million in SSI benefits by coaching them on medical symptoms and providing false information on their medical histories. The GAO has identified major weaknesses in how SSA awards SSI benefits to legal immigrants. While the bill before us will go far in reducing the problem of unchecked benefits to legal immigrants. this will continue to be an area of potential abuse that we must continue to watch carefully. Fraud and abuse in SSI should not be the only cause for reform of the disability programs. Even more fundamental problems should motivate reform.
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immigrants