The flood assistance In this bill will help families. individuals. businesses. and local governments that have suffered losses. and will also pay for flood prevention and control efforts. The ad--combined with the persistence. creativity. and heroic spirit we have already seen from area citizenswill go a long way toward getting the region back on its feet. Additionally. we have the chance today to remedy the problems we created for legal immigrants in last years welfare bill. Congresswoman CARRIE MEEK is offering an amendment to delay these problems until a more permanent solution can be effected. I urge my colleagues to do whats right and support our efforts to restore fairness for legal immigrants. As you know. Mr. Chairman. the new welfare law. will deny legal Immigrants supplemental security Income ISSI]. food stamps. and Medicaid benefits starting In August of this year. Many of the people affected by the new law are elderiy people who have lived in this country. worked hard. and paid taxes for many years. many of these people came here to escape political or religious persecution. The new law is unduly harsh on these people. and the States. localities. and private chanties have not had nearly enough time to find ways to soften the blow. In my State of Minnesota alone. the new law will deny food stamps to 16.000 legal immigrants. supplemental security income to 5.400 elderly and disabled legal immigrants. and Medicaid cov. erege to 470 immigrants. Nationally. millions more will be hurt by these changes. I urge my colleagues to support t flood relief eflorts in this bill which are so important to my State and region. I also urge that we begin to restore fairness to legal immigrants that was unwisely taken away in Iasi years welfare legislation.
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immigrants Immigrants