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Congress votes to give Social Security benefits to Illegal Immigrants
May 22nd 03:19:52 PM
In a 50-49 vote (1 abstaining) late last week, the United States Senate voted to table (kill) an amendment (SA 3985 Voting Records) by Senator Ensign (R-NV) that would prevent illegal aliens from collecting Social Security benefits on past illegal employment.
Majority Leader Frist (R-TN) has this to say about the amendment:
Social Security is a compact between generations of American citizens. And we all know that the solvency of Social Security is seriously in question. That's why I strongly supported the President's plan for Social Security reform. And that's why I believe that illegal immigrants who work in America with forged papers and false Social Security numbers should not qualify for the benefits owed to hard-working Americans.
Moreover, when illegals use false numbers, the American who possesses that number may face tax liability based on that illegal work, IRS audits, and numerous credit problems.
So, Senator Ensign proposed an amendment to the immigration reform legislation on the Senate floor that would guarantee that illegal aliens cannot accumulate credit to qualify for Social Security using false Social Security numbers.
On the other side, Senator Kennedy (D-MA), says:
"Their money sits in the Social Security Administration waiting to be matched with an eligible beneficiary, and once those workers establish the eligibility, how in all fairness can we deny them the credit for their past contributions?" asked Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat.
This is only one more of many examples that illustrates that you don't own your social security contributions. You get what Congress feels like giving you. And if they choose to give part of it to someone else, you have no recourse.
Regardless of where one may fall on the issue, I'm sure we can all agree that if we had a system of Personal Retirement Accounts that included ownership of social security contributions, we wouldn't have to have this debate.
For further reading, see:
Posted by Jeremy Tunnell
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