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2005 Ron Paul Chapter 23
Not linked on Ron Paul’s Congressional website.
Congressional Record [.PDF]
Introduction Of The Social Security For American Citizens Only Act
16 February 2005
HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
2005 Ron Paul 23:1
Mr. PAUL. 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.
2005 Ron Paul 23:2
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.
2005 Ron Paul 23:3
Obviously, this program provides a threat to the already fragile Social Security system, and
the threat is looming larger. A little-noticed
part of the administration’s immigration “reform”
proposal 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.
2005 Ron Paul 23:4
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
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.
2005 Ron Paul 23:5
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.
2005 Ron Paul 23:6
Estimates of what this latest totalization proposal would cost top $1 billion 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 planning to
enact 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 while policy makers
seriously consider cutting Social Security benefits
to American seniors and raising payroll
taxes on American workers, it makes no
sense to expand Social Security 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.
2005 Ron Paul 23:7
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.
2005 Ron Paul 23:8
Original Cosponsors of the Social Security for American Citizens Only Act: ROSCOE BARTLETT
(MD–06), JOHN DUNCAN (TN–02), SCOTT
GARRETT (NJ–05), VIRGIL GOODE (VA–03),
THADDEUS MCCOTTER (MI–11), ZACH WAMP
(TN–03).
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