Senate OKs Smith’s bill extending refugee benefits
By Paul Haist
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The U.S. Senate has approved legislation that will extend Supplemental Security Income benefits eligibility for refugees and other humanitarian immigrants, including many Jews.
The measure enjoyed bi-partisan leadership in Senate and won unanimous approval on Aug. 1.
Co-sponsored by Oregon Republican Sen. Gordon Smith and Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl, Senate Bill 821 amends a section of the 1996 Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act by extending supplemental security income for refugees, asylees and certain other humanitarian immigrants in the fiscal years 2009-2011.
Jewish Federation of Greater Portland Community Relations Director Robert Horenstein said of the measure’s approval, “The issue has been at the top of United Jewish Communities’ legislative agenda and has been an issue on which we (the CRC) have communicated with Sen. Smith’s office throughout the previous year.”
Marian Fenimore is the executive director of the Jewish Family and Child Service in Portland. She said, “This provides more security for the elder refugees that we’ve resettled over the years, so we are very pleased that this has happened.”
The House of Representatives approved a similar measure, H.R. 2608, on July 11, 2007. It also enjoyed bipartisan leadership. The House measure was lead by Washington Democrat James McDermott and 15 co-sponsors (12 Democrats and three Republicans), including Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer.
A conference committee of senators and representatives will reconcile the two versions of the bill before sending it to the president for his signature.
Sen. Smith said the bill’s beneficiaries include Jews fleeing religious persecution in the former Soviet Union, Iraqi Kurds who fled the Saddam Hussein regime, Cubans and Hmong people from the highlands of Laos who served on the side of the United States military during the Vietnam War.
The SSI program provides subsistence assistance to cover the basic necessities of elderly and disabled individuals with little or no other income.
Congress had previously modified the SSI program to include a seven-year time limit on eligibility. The seven-year policy was intended to provide adequate time for individuals to become citizens and thus retain benefits.
Due to processing delays and other bureaucratic problems, the process often takes longer than seven years, leaving thousands of elderly and disabled refugees and others without this essential lifeline.
Smith said, “We cannot turn our back on the most vulnerable political asylees or refugees who are seeking safety in this great country of ours.” He added, “To penalize them because of delays encountered through the bureaucratic process is unjust and inappropriate.”
The Congressional Budget Office projected that the measure’s approval will lead to $124 million in additional SSI expenditures and $22 million in additional Medicaid payments through 2010.
The CBO also projected savings in unemployment compensation payments that will not need to be paid because of the additional SSI payments. The CBO calculated a net budgetary savings of $58 million by the year 2017 owing to the passage of this measure.
