I could not support the Feinstein amendment. Senators SIMON and GRAHAM offered an amendment which would have eliminated any retroactivity effect from the Dole bills provision to increase the deeming requirement in all cases to a 5year period. Currently. there are some government benefits. education assistance being a primary example. for which noncitizens residing legally in the United States can become eligible earlier than the five year deeming period which exists for most meanstested Federal benefits. This provision would apply to a relatively narrow segment of people: only legal aliens who have been in this country less than five years and who either are currently receiving some form of assistance or are eligible to receive some form of assistance because the respective deeming period has expired. As I have indicated. immigrants legally admitted to the United States are asked to pledge that they will either be selfsupporting or supported by their sponsors. I regret that some people may be adversely affected by this provision. Nevertheless. it has become too easy in many instances for noncitizens to receive government benefits while our own citizens often go without. At a time when we are making difficult budget cuts which will impact the lives of American citizens. I think we owe it to them to ensure that we are not conferring nonessential benefits to noncitizens. For that reason. I opposed the SimonGraham amendment on deeming retroactivity.
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noncitizens immigrants