Speech #1050136555

The Senator says it is like putting a big neon sign out there. "Come to America." Well. let us take a look at that. What are we doing in this bill? What we are saying is that for refugees and asylees from religious persecution and political persecution. who cannot exist in their homelands because they are going to be tortured or killed. we say to them that if you come to America under a quotawe have a quota every year. not every refugee gets into this country. we have a quotabut if you get in under that quota. right now as a refugee you are eligible for food stamps and Medicaid and SSI. You are eligible for food stamps for the first 5 years. but you are not after that. And so what it says is that you can come in. you can get Medicaid. you can get SSI for up to 7 years. but you cannot get food stamps after 5 years. As a refugee. it takes 4 years and 9 months to be able to apply for citizenship. We know that. because of the backlog at INS. it takes at least 2 more years. maybe 3 years to get full citizenship. Let me also point out something else. These food stamps are not automatic. It does not mean because you are a refugee and you are here that you get food stamps. No. You still have to meet the requirements. the work requirements and the income requirements. to be able to qualify for food stamps like anyone else. So we are not talking about automatic food stamps. The 5year period. the Senator is correct. was set in the welfare reform bill. But it did provide an exception for refugees and persons granted asylum. They would be able to receive food stamps for 5 years. In the Balanced Budget Act that we passed last year. we extended that for the elderly. the disabled. and the children of legal immigrants who were here in 1996. And then we looked at what we did. We looked at the 5year period and said. this is unrealistic because a refugee who is here. as I said. has to be here 4 years and 9 monthsand it takes 3. sometimes 4 more years to become a citizen. And it is impossible for a refugee to complete the citizenship process in less than 7 years. As I said. the Balanced Budget Act last year provided that in the case of Medicaid and SSI. refugees and asylees would be eligible to receive benefits for up to 7 years if they qualify. Not automatic. There is no neon sign.