SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I will speak for a minute on the bill we have just passed. This is a bill that I introduced a couple weeks ago along with Senators Leahy, Gillibrand, Menendez, Franken, and Klobuchar. I thank them. It is called the SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act of 2011.

The Senate just passed this bill. I believe that is because it is a truly worthy piece of legislation. It accomplishes three incredibly important objectives at the same time. First, the bill ensures that approximately 5,600 disabled refugees will not lose their life-sustaining benefits that are their only safety net protecting them from homelessness, illness, and other effects of extreme poverty.

Many of these disabled refugees are people who have aided American troops overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan and risked their lives for the American cause.

Others are victims of torture and human trafficking.

The bill continues the Bush administration policy of making sure this vulnerable group does not lose its only lifeline to stay afloat. But unlike past legislation, the second fact about the bill is it is fully paid for. It is paid for by imposing a $30 fee on individuals applying for the diversity visa lottery program. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people apply to be one of the 50,000 selected to enter the United States. This program has had great success enriching the American economy with immigrant businesses from countries that are not traditionally represented in our immigrant pool. The one problem with the program is that applying for a lottery ticket is free, and consequently the program has recently been compromised by third parties fraudulently filing applications for monetary gain. The State Department has told me by charging a $30 fee to apply, we will completely eliminate this misconduct.

Finally, the third positive aspect of this bill is by setting the fee at $30, the Congressional Budget Office--our nonpartisan budget scorekeeper--projects we will actually reduce the deficit by $24 million.

In short, this bill hits the trifecta. It helps a very small and targeted group of the most vulnerable and needy disabled individuals we traditionally have helped, including many who helped us--helped our troops--in both Afghanistan and Iraq and have come here on the refugee program. Second, it eliminates the misconduct in the diversity visa program, because once the $30 fee is imposed, the gamesmanship of those who are gaming the system to make money will disappear. And finally, it reduces the Federal deficit by $24 million.

Because this bill is a win, win, win for all sides, I ask my colleagues in the House take up and pass the bill immediately. The benefit for the folks we are talking about expired on October 1. If the House does not act soon, we will not be able to undo the irreparable harm that will soon be done to these most vulnerable of individuals when they begin missing checks.

Again I want to thank my cosponsors, and particularly Senators Leahy and Grassley, chairman and ranking member of the relevant Judiciary Committee, as well as Senators Baucus and Hatch of the Finance Committee, and Senators Cornyn and Sessions of the Budget Committee, and Senator Cornyn, who is my ranking member on the Immigration Subcommittee, for allowing this bill to pass.

I also thank Senator Coburn for working with me to improve this bill. And, last but not least, I thank Senator Paul, who worked with me over the last 2 weeks to address his concerns in a manner we both think will allow us to get more information to make the refugee program safer and more efficient.

We will soon be doing something very good by passing this bill, by getting it signed into law, and I hope the House will move quickly and decisively to see that happens as quickly as possible.

With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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