Speech #1050144352

It waives all points of order except the rules pertaining to unfunded mandates and the scope of the conference. I am strongly opposed to the rule and I ask for its defeat. Behind all of the parliamentary language in this rule. this measure eliminates food stamps for 250.000 children. elderly people. disabled people. and people who came to this country to flee political or religious persecution who are legal immigrants. Yes. legal immigrants who are in this country with the approval of our government. This is a shameful and malicious rule. The conference report includes provisions that improve agriculture research. fund and reform the Federal crop insurance program. and extend rural development assistance. It also restores food stamps to about onefourth of the refugees and legal immigrants who were made ineligible under the 1996 welfare bill. The bills provision on food stamps for legal immigrants do not undermine or conflict with welfare reform. The provisions are modeled on last years Balanced Budget Act which restored eligibility for SSI and Medicaid to limited categories of needy legal immigrants. We are talking about restoring food stamps to only the most vulnerable groups of legal immigrants. This includes children the elderly and the disabled. None of these groups are ablebodied. workingage people who would normally be expected to support themselves. Furthermore. eligibility is limited to those special categories of people who entered the country prior to the August 22nd. 1996. enactment of the welfare reform bill. We are talking about only 250.000 of the neediest legal immigrants. This bill has enormous support in Congress and throughout the Nation. The Senate passed a conference report by an overwhelming vote of 92 to 8. It is supported by numerous agricultural. commodity. nutrition. immigrant. and religious operations. Testifying before the Committee on Rules last evening. the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture. the gentleman from Oregon . asked for a rule to protect the food stamp provision. He called the conference report a carefully crafted balance of interests. The ranking minority member of the Committee on Agriculture. the gentleman from Texas . also asked for a rule supporting the food stamp provision. He called it a very good bill. Members of the Committee on Rules of both parties spoke out in favor of extending food stamp eligibility to children. the disabled. and the elderly who are legal immigrants. The gentleman from Massachusetts offered an amendment to the rule which would have saved the food stamp provision. That motion failed on a narrow 5 to 6 vote. Yes. there is enormous support for this bill. except for six members of the Committee on Rules. who do not want to see legal immigrants get food stamps if they are children. disabled. or elderly. The cost of this is fully offset. and it represents no net increase in spending. This bill does not affect any future immigrants to the U.S. There is no excuse for this nastiness. The measure even takes away food stamps from some needy legal refugees who came. to the U.S. to escape political or religious persecution. These are the neediest of needy immigrants. They have no sponsors. They have no support here.