Social Security for American Citizens Only!
Congressional Record—U.S. House of Representatives
January 30, 2003
Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the Social Security for American
Citizens Only Act. This act forbids the federal government from
providing Social Security benefits to noncitizens. It also ends the
practice of totalization. Totalization is where the Social Security
Administration takes into account the number of years an individual
worked abroad, and thus was not paying payroll taxes, in
determining that individual’s eligibility for Social Security benefits!
Hard as it may be to believe, the United States government
already provides Social Security benefits to citizens of 17 other
countries. Under current law, citizens of those countries covered
by these agreements may have an easier time getting Social Security
benefits than public school teachers or policemen!
Obviously, this program provides a threat to the already fragile
Social Security system, and the threat is looming larger. Just
before Christmas, the press reported on a pending deal between
the United States and the government of Mexico, which would
make hundreds of thousands of Mexican citizens eligible for U.S.
Social Security benefits. Totalization is the centerpiece of this proposal,
so even if a Mexican citizen did not work in the United
States long enough to qualify for Social Security, the number of
years worked in Mexico would be added to bring up the total and
thus make the Mexican worker eligible for cash transfers from the
United States.
Mr. Speaker, press reports also indicate that thousands of foreigners
who would qualify for U.S. Social Security benefits actually
came to the United States and worked here illegally. That’s
right: The federal government may actually allow someone who
came to the United States illegally, worked less than the required
number of years to qualify for Social Security, and then returned
to Mexico for the rest of his working years, to collect full U.S. Social
Security benefits while living in Mexico. That is an insult to the
millions of Americans who pay their entire working lives into the
system and now face the possibility that there may be nothing left
when it is their turn to retire.
The proposed agreement is nothing more than a financial
reward to those who have willingly and knowingly violated our
own immigration laws. Talk about an incentive for illegal immigration!
How many more would break the law to come to this
country if promised U.S. government paychecks for life? Is creating
a global welfare state on the back of the American taxpayer a
good idea? The program also establishes a very disturbing precedent
of U.S. foreign aid to individual citizens rather than to states.
Estimates of what this deal with the Mexican government
would cost top one billion dollars per year. Supporters of the
Social Security to Mexico deal may attempt to downplay the effect
the agreement would have on the system, but actions speak louder
than words: According to several press reports, the State Department
and the Social Security Administration are already negotiating
to build a new building in Mexico City to handle the expected
rush of applicants for this new program!
As the system braces for a steep increase in those who will be
drawing from the Social Security trust fund, it makes no sense to
expand it into a global welfare system. Social Security was
designed to provide support for retired American citizens who
worked in the United States. We should be shoring up the system
for those Americans who have paid in for decades, not expanding
it to cover foreigners who have not.
It is long past time for Congress to stand up to the internationalist
bureaucrats and start looking out for the American worker. I
therefore call upon my colleagues to stop the use of the Social Security
trust fund as yet another vehicle for foreign aid by cosponsoring
the Social Security for American Citizens Only Act.
Connect With Us