Thread: Illegals to get Soc. Security benefits after only 6 Quarters

Transcript of Culberson's Appearance on Fox News Channel's Your World with Neil Cavuto

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: If my next guest right, the administration has signed a deal with Mexico that will bankrupt Social Security even faster by making some illegals in America eligible for these benefits. And get this, if it is true, their families back home could also get checks. With us now, Republican congressman of Texas, John Culberson. Congressman, the Social Security Administration says this is not the case. You say it is.

REP. JOHN CULBERSON (R), TEXAS: Well, unfortunately, this is, I believe, another example of the bureaucracy running around the Congress and the American people. They did it with the Dubai Port deal. The Department of Transportation is just trying to do it with a rule that would give minority foreign investors control over U.S. airlines.

And I'm basing my information, Neil, on the Government Accounting Office which reported this totalization agreement would, indeed, apply to extend American Social Security to every illegal alien from Mexico working in the United States, extend those Social Security benefits to their entire extended family, anywhere in the world.

And the GAO reported, Neil, get this, that the illegal aliens would qualify for Social Security after working only six quarters, when Americans have to work 40 quarters? I mean, this is just outrageous. And I wouldn't be so suspicious if the State Department would simply give us the agreement.

I have asked for it for over 16 months. Prove me wrong. I welcome the chance for the State Department and the Social Security Administration to prove that I'm wrong. But they will not show us the agreement. The GAO says it is true.

CAVUTO: We did hear, Congressman, from a Mark Hinkle with the Social Security Administration National Press Office, and he said, I could go on and on here, but I will cut to the chase, that there is no such agreement currently in effect. The U.S. currently has totalization agreements, that you referred to, in effect with 21 countries. These totalization agreements, to really vastly oversimplify it, allow workers who are in here on a temporary basis to get benefits, but that this is not given to illegals. What do you say?

CULBERSON: This agreement is not in effect yet, but the administration, the bureaucrats signed it on June 29th of 2004. The State Department must approve the agreement, Neil, and that moment, there is a 60-day clock that begins to tick. Congress has 60 legislative days to stop it.

And we are cocked and loaded to stop it. The administration has, indeed, not yet approved it. And I passed an amendment in the Appropriations Committee to cut off all federal funding to implement or even begin procedures for this agreement, because Congress wants the administration to know they should not approve this agreement that Social Security signed, which the GAO says puts every illegal alien from Mexico, their entire families, anywhere in the world, on the Social Security system. And.

CAVUTO: But how did they get their families in? That is what I don't understand. Well, these agreements, to quote from the GAO report, is that family members of covered Mexican workers would become newly entitled because the agreement waives rules that normally prevent payments to non- citizen dependents and survivors living outside of the United States.

And the cost of this agreement is completely unpredictable. Neil, you are right, this could bankrupt -- would bankrupt Social Security far faster. The General Accounting Office says there is no way to know how much this monster is going to cost. Just imagine.

CAVUTO: But why -- what do we get out of the, Congressman? If we were to do this -- let's play it out if this is happening.

CULBERSON: Right. Right.

CAVUTO: What do we get out of it?

CULBERSON: Well, it is hard to imagine. It is another reason why the House is the -- frankly, our Republican majority in the House is the only thing stopping this Senate bill that wants to legalize illegals. The White House planned to legalize illegals from taking effect. If the Senate bill passes, this would happen automatically, because all those previously illegal workers are now legal.

They all participate in Social Security. The totalization agreement can, according to the GAO again and according to other reliable sources I have got. But this is the GAO telling us that the agreement extends benefits to illegals and their families, and why don't they show us? I mean, prove me wrong. All.

CAVUTO: All right. Well, we are going to leave that challenge up to the.

CULBERSON: the State Department has to do is show us, show us.

CAVUTO: We are going to leave that challenge up to the Social Security Administration, John. But thank you very much.

CULBERSON: Hey, thank you for covering this.

CAVUTO: Congressman John Culberson on Capitol Hill.

There are some people running around in our government that have absolutely lost their minds or worse.
I think it's time for a Mole Hunt.
Hint, Hint! Is the CIA hand cuffed by DHS?

reptile09,
I actually think the Constitution stopped up a toilet, in the White House.

Dixie

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffi ... Mexico.htm

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffi ... ico-pr.htm


Social Security Online Press Releases


Press Office Home This is an archival or historical document and may not reflect current policies or procedures

United States and Mexico Sign Social Security Agreement
(Aquí en Español)
Meet the Press Office
Facts And Figures

Press Releases
Congressional Testimonies
SSA Reports
SSA Research
Tuesday June 29, 2004
Jim Courtney, Press Officer

For Immediate Release
410-965-8904 FAX 410-966-9973

SOCIAL SECURITY
News Release
United States and Mexico Sign Social Security Agreement
Agreement to Benefit U.S. Workers and Employers
(Printer friendly version)
Jo Anne Barnhart, Commissioner of Social Security, signed an agreement today with Dr. Santiago Levy Algazi, Director General, Mexican Social Security Institute, that will remove from U.S. citizens working for U.S. companies in Mexico the burden of paying social security taxes to both countries. The agreement also will remove the double taxation requirement for Mexican citizens working for Mexican companies in the United States. “This agreement eliminates a serious and unnecessary impediment to American and Mexican businesses and their employees,” Commissioner Barnhart stated. “Just as important, it promotes equity and fairness for workers who divide their careers between our two countries.”

Currently, U.S. companies that employ U.S. citizens in Mexico are required to contribute to both the U.S. and Mexican social security systems. When the agreement takes effect, U.S. and Mexican employers and their employees will contribute to either the U.S. or Mexican social security systems, but not both. This will result in approximately 3,000 U.S. workers and their employers sharing in tax savings of $140 million over the first five years of the agreement.

The agreement also will improve social security protection for people who work in both countries. At present, some workers who have divided their careers between the United States and Mexico fail to qualify for social security benefits from one or both countries because they do not meet minimum eligibility requirements. Under the agreement it will be possible for workers and their family members to qualify for pro-rated U.S. or Mexican benefits based on combined credits from both countries. This will result in approximately 50,000 U.S. and Mexican workers receiving benefits after the first five years of the agreement.

The agreement must be reviewed by the U.S. Congress and approved by the Mexican Senate before it can take effect. The United States has similar social security agreements with 20 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Chile, South Korea and nearly every country in Western Europe. In addition, the U.S. signed a social security agreement with Japan in February 2004, which is expected to take effect in late 2005.

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS: A fact sheet providing more information about the Social Security agreement between the U.S. and Mexico is attached. To find out more about agreements with other countries go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/international/.

# # #

Note: Copies of most SSA press releases, as well as other Social Security information and statistics,
are available at SSA’s Internet site, Social Security Online, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.
Also look there for information on subscribing to SSA’s
free electronic newsletter, Social Security eNews.

SSA Press Office 440 Altmeyer Building 6401 Security Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21235
410-965-8904 FAX 410-966-9973

Note that this is a RELEASE, not the agreement.

Social Security Totalization with Mexico is the issue made me become aware AND started me on the path which led to ALIPAC and activism.

Here's another, I'm putting them on this thread, rather than seperately, cause IMO they'll make more sense:

Social Security Funds for Illegal Aliens?

“Adding millions of lawbreakers to the Social Security system would be a slap in the face to our retirees. Why should we bend over backwards for those who broke our laws to work in this country while shortchanging the needs of hardworking Americans and legal immigrants who have put money into the Social Security system for decades? With Social Security in financial trouble, it is totally insane even to think about adding millions and millions of alien lawbreakers into the system. Congress must act now to pass H.R. 1631 and keep this travesty from happening."
— Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) [1]


With Social Security facing projections of insolvency, a Bush Administration plan would hasten that crisis by sending hundreds of millions of dollars in Social Security payments to Mexican citizens living in Mexico—including those who have worked illegally in the United States.

Under current law, an alien who worked illegally in the U.S. can only become eligible for Social Security benefits by becoming a legal U.S. resident. But officials at the State Department and Social Security Administration (SSA) are preparing a plan that would pay benefits to illegal aliens who have returned to Mexico.

The Bush Administration is negotiating an agreement with Mexico that Mexico has been seeking since the first such agreements were concluded more than twenty years ago. It would gain greater U.S. Social Security benefits for Mexicans who have worked in the United States, including those who worked illegally, and for their family members.[2] The agreement has not been signed yet, but the idea has already raised a firestorm of concern that may forestall it. If it were signed, it would be submitted to Congress, which would then have 60 days for either house to reject it, or it automatically would go into effect as an executive agreement.

A totalization agreement totals together periods of work by an individual in two countries, when calculating eligibility to receive benefits. The agreements are designed to ensure that people from one country working for years in another one do not fall through the cracks and end up ineligible for benefits in either country.

The U.S. has twenty such treaties with other counties, nearly all with European countries with economies similar to the U.S.’s and limited numbers of beneficiaries (2,084 in the case of the U.K.). The one proposed with Mexico would be dramatically different—not only because far larger numbers of people would be affected, but also because there are so many Mexicans who work illegally in the United States who might benefit from it.

The Mexican agreement would apply to all Mexicans who worked in the United States for a minimum of six quarters (one-and-a-half years of full-time employment) but less than 40 quarters (the amount needed to qualify for Social Security benefits without an agreement). To receive benefits in the United States, the Mexicans would have to become legal residents, but that requirement would not apply if they applied for Social Security benefits from Mexico (i.e., former illegal aliens could apply for Social Security).

The annual cost to the U.S. of the 20 existing accords is about $183 million; the agreement with Mexico is expected to cost Social Security between $78 million at first, rising to $650 million—in the SSA estimate—and more likely many times that in the view of the General Accounting Office.

GAO Tells Congress a Mexican Agreement Could Impact the Trust Fund

While the Social Security Administration (SSA) estimated that an agreement with Mexico would not make a measurable impact on the Social Security trust fund if it applied to 50,000 Mexicans — the number of current Mexican SSA beneficiaries residing in Mexico — and if that number increased to 300,000 beneficiaries by 2050[3], the General Accounting Office (GAO) disagrees.

In testimony on September 11, 2003, the GAO challenged the SSA’s methodology for estimating the costs of an agreement with Mexico. The methodology failed to take into account the estimated five million illegal alien Mexican workers in the United States, Mexicans now living in Mexico who earlier worked illegally in the United States, the fact that the agreement likely would make family members living in Mexico eligible for benefits that they are not currently entitled to, and the effects of a proposed new guest worker agreement. Also, the GAO found that there was no effort to systematically study the record keeping of the Mexican authorities who would be partners in the program to assure the validity of information received from that source.

The GAO dismissed the validity of comparing the impact of an agreement with Mexico to the one with Canada, because of the disproportionate number of illegal alien workers from Mexico. It also noted, “The cost estimate also inherently assumes that the behavior of Mexican citizens would not change after a totalization agreement goes into effect. Under totalization, unauthorized workers could have an additional incentive to enter the United States to work and to maintain the appropriate documentation necessary to claim their earnings under a false identity.”

Given the questionable methodology used by the SSA to assess the impact of an agreement with Mexico, the GAO concluded that the SSA’s assessment that such an agreement would not have a measurable impact on the trust fund was not supported by the analysis, and, “Thus, for the Mexican agreement, additional analyses to assess risks and costs may be called for.”

Alternative Approaches

The SSA has been recommending, since 1999, that Congress adopt legislation to “prohibit the crediting of nonwork earnings [unauthorized earnings using a fake or restricted SSN] and related quarters of coverage for purposes of benefit entitlement.” The operation of maintaining the suspense account — where all payments go that cannot be matched to an individuals account — and later researching and identifying wages in that account claimed by a worker who has subsequently gained legal work status is costly to the trust fund (as much as $63 million annually).[4]

This approach suggested by the SSA would appear to have the same effect as stipulating that periods of illegal work in the United States may not be counted toward benefits eligibility in a totalization agreement. However, until a provision such as the SSA recommendation is enacted, no further totalization agreements should be agreed to without a provision that excludes unauthorized work.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, letter to FAIR, April 28, 2003.

[2] At present, people residing in Mexico who receive SSA benefits must meet all of the requirements for U.S. workers, including to have paid into the SSA system for at least 40 quarters (10 years full-time).

[3] “Congressional Rcial Security Totalization with Mexicoesponse Report: Social Security Administration Benefits Related to Unauthorized Work,” Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, March 2003.

[4] In tax year 2001, the SSA sent 944,000 “non-match” notices to employers, but this has been scaled back, supposedly for cost reasons. More than 500,000 people with non-valid SSN’s paid into the trust fund in 2000, according to testimony by the Senior Citizens League on September 11, 2003. It was not until September 2002 that the SSA began verifying non-citizen immigration documents prior to issuing an SSN, according to SSA testimony on September 9, 2003.

Updated 11/03

Is all this NOT discrimination? At it's best?
I hate to be the one that says this word........I really do.........been waiting for someone else to say it but it looks like they aren't.........not yet anyway..........I truly think it's time the people take control of our country once again..........does the word overthrow mean anything to anyone?
Looks like that is about our only way out of this mess. As much as I hate to say it.

Just when you think you can't get any angrier. This is unbelieveable. What really gets me going. Is knowing people like Bush will never need a dime from a system like Social Security. What will be in place when our generation needs the benefits that we have paid into?

bearpaw and Dixie,

What will be in place when our generation needs the benefits that we have paid into

This is why we must continue to stay organized and make the citizens and LEGAL immigrants wishes known to our lawBreakers.

We HAVE made a difference! Look at what happened in the Senate!
We're the ones that stopped their bill! Don't forget that for a minute!

We just have to keep it up, both nationally and locally!

I'm sure you both have already seen W.'s call to action for NC.
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=33661


I'm typing this while holding (once again ) on the phone. Gotta get me a phone with a headset
Boy I may even arrive in the 21 st century, technologically speaking, if I keep this up!
Gee, I wonder if my new neighbors will let me clean ovens

Seriously, we ARE making a difference, so don't give up!

I like this quote:

"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an
unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen."

-

Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect

I guess the folks that run our country are not concerned about social security running out of money or being able to provide the many needed benefits that so many of our seniors depend on. After all, Senators and Congressmen do not depend on Social Security when they retire... They have their own retirement plan, that we as tax payers pay for and then when they die, the benefits(Money, etc.) goes to their widow.
Now, if they had to depend on SS.... I bet they would be singing a different tune. WASHINGTON NEEDS TO LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE FED UP WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING IN THIS COUNTRY.
TOGETHERWE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE... SO... LET'S GIT ER DONE.....
DOT IN LAFAYETTE LA

curiouspat,

We HAVE made a difference! Look at what happened in the Senate!
We're the ones that stopped their bill! Don't forget that for a minute!

You are so right Pat. We have made a difference.