Kohl, Feingold Urge President to Extend SSI Benefits for Elderly and Disabled Refugees
KOHL, FEINGOLD URGE PRESIDENT TO EXTEND SSI BENFITS FOR ELDERLY AND DISABLED REFUGEES
Current seven-year time limit puts Wisconsin's elderly Hmong refugees at risk of losing Supplemental Security Income
U.S. Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, along with a bipartisan group of six other Senators, today wrote to President Bush, urging him to include a provision in the fiscal year 2006 budget that would protect elderly and disabled refugees from losing their Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Each month, a growing number of individuals lose their eligibility for SSI benefits. That's because under the 1996 welfare law there is a seven-year time limit on SSI benefits -- a basic monthly income for the elderly, blind or disabled -- for legal humanitarian immigrants who are not U.S. citizens. In 2003, elderly and disabled refugees began losing their SSI benefits, and the Social Security Administration estimates that tens of thousands more will be affected.
"We need to act quickly to ensure that thousands of elderly and disabled individuals who are legally living in the U.S. don't lose their SSI benefits. There is clearly a flaw in the system when the most vulnerable legal immigrants are denied the basic resources they need to live. I hope the President will work with us to correct this," Kohl said.
"Many elderly refugees legally living in this country, including Hmong refugees who fought alongside our forces during the Vietnam War and their families, continue to worry about losing these vital benefits," Feingold said. "Last year, the President included funding for the extension of these benefits in his budget and I hope we can work together this year to help these elderly refugees continue to receive the benefits they need."
Elderly Hmong refugees in Wisconsin face many barriers in their applications for citizenship, including language difficulties, which put them at risk for losing SSI benefits. And beyond that, there are processing and bureaucratic delays within the various agencies, which an immigrant must overcome before they become naturalized.
Last year Kohl and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), along with Feingold, introduced the SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act. The Senators pledged to Bush in their letter that they would work with the Administration throughout the year to ensure that an extension passes Congress.
Also signing the letter to the President were Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Smith, and Arlen Specter (R-PA).
http://kohl.senate.gov/~kohl/press/05/02/2005202531.html