SCHUMER ANNOUNCES THAT, AFTER HIS PUSH, LEGISLATION THAT CLOSES LOOPHOLE THAT ALLOWS EXPELLED NAZIS TO COLLECT SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS HAS CLEARED CONGRESS & NOW HEADS TO PRESIDENT’S DESK FOR SIGNATURE

Schumer Introduced Legislation After Recent AP Investigation Which Revealed that Dozens of Nazi War Criminals Have Received Social Security Benefits Years After Being Forced Out of U.S.

Today, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer announced today that both the Senate and House have passed bipartisan legislation that closes a loophole that has allowed Nazis expelled from the U.S. to collect Social Security benefit. With passage secured in both chambers of Congress, the bill now heads to the President’s desk for his signature. A recent investigation by the Associated Press revealed that dozens of Nazi war criminals have received Social Security benefits years after being forced out of the U.S. Schumer introduced legislation with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), with a companion bill introduced by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney in House. Legislation that recently passed both the House and Senate was a modified version of this bill, which Schumer worked to pass with large bi-partisan support in both houses of Congress. “The No Social Security for Nazi Act,” was introduced by incoming Senate Finance Committee Chairmen Hatch and was cosponsored by Senators Schumer and Casey.

“Nazi war criminals have been allowed to collect Social Security for far too long, and finally this critical legislation will put an end to it,” Senator Schumer said. “It is simply perverse that these criminals have been able to live comfortably abroad thanks to the American taxpayer. The last remaining hurdle to make this legislation a reality is the President signature and so, I am pleased that soon we will right this wrong once and for all.”

The bill, supported by the World Jewish Congress, would deny Federal public benefits to individuals who have been participants in Nazi persecution. 

The legislation will:

·         Reaffirm the longstanding American view that Nazi perpetrators of the Holocaust and World War II engaged in a uniquely horrifying form of evil. Those Nazi perpetrators who entered the United States, did so illegally by lying to customs authorities regarding their involvement in the war, and thus were able to participate in Social Security by illegal means. 

·         Amend the law to stop Social Security payments to those stripped of U.S. citizenship due to participation in Nazi activities or who voluntarily renounced their citizenship due to such participation (Those who are judicially deported are already ineligible for Social Security under current law). 

·         Requires a report to Congress on the number of those who participated in Nazi activities whose benefits have been terminated by the Social Security Administration. 

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