FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 6, 2007
CONTACT: Geoff Embler or Matt Mackowiak
Sen. Hutchison Protects Social Security
Passes Amendment to Ensure Fairness in Eligibility for Social Security Benefits
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, today passed an amendment to S. 1348, the immigration reform bill, which ensures individuals who were authorized to work in the country will receive credit for their work, and individuals who were not authorized to work will not.
“Millions of Americans rely on the safety net that Social Security provides in retirement,” said Sen. Hutchison. “The Social Security system will go into a deficit in 2017. We must not add millions of workers to the system if they have not legally paid into the Trust Fund.”
The current bill allowed for “Z” visa applicants to receive Social Security credits if they have a Social Security number, potentially allowing credits to be earned for time worked under illegal status by applicants who overstayed their visas.
Assuming a worker earns an average of $9 per hour and is paid for 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year, the Hutchison amendment will save the Social Security system $28.2 billion a year by denying benefits to the conservatively estimated 4.8 million visa overstays in the country. This number represents 40% of an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States currently, an estimate released by the Government Accountability Office.
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