Mr. President. yesterday Senator DAMATO offered an amendment. which I cosponsored. to delay implementation of certain provisions in the new welfare law which affeet legal Immigrants. Last year. Congress passed a socalled welfare reform bill that drastically restricts the ability of legal immigrants to participate in public assistance programs. It prohibits them from receiving food stamps. SSI benefits. and Federal nonemergency Medicaid benefits. In recent months. we have seen the harsh Impact of this bill on legal Immigrant families. Many fear being turned out of nursing homes and cut off from disability payments beginning on August 1. 1997. In recent weeks. some needy immigrants have taken their own lives. rather than burden their families. Last weeks negotiations on the fiscal year 1998 budget produced more hopeful prospects on this issue. But. needy Immigrants will begin to lose their SSI benefits on August 1. 2 months before the fiscal year 1998 begins. We need to extend the August 1 deadline while we get our act together and work out a satisfactory compromise. Senator DAMATOs amendment extends the effective date for certain parts of the welfare law which affect legal immigrants until the end of the 1997 fiscal year. This extension is fair and reasonable. We need to ensure that no one loses ss8 benefits while the budget process works its course.
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Immigrant immigrants Immigrants