Fairness for Legal Immigrants Act of 1999
HR 1399 IH
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1399
To amend title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide States with the option to allow legal
immigrant pregnant women, children, and blind or disabled medically needy
individuals to be eligible for medical assistance under the Medicaid Program,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 14, 1999
Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Ms.
ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. COYNE, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr.
MCGOVERN, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. FROST,
Mr. TOWNS, Mr. RUSH, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island,
Mr. DOOLEY of California, Ms. LEE, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, and Mr. DIAZ-BALART)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways
and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Commerce, Agriculture,
and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction
of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide States with the option to allow legal
immigrant pregnant women, children, and blind or disabled medically needy
individuals to be eligible for medical assistance under the Medicaid Program,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Fairness for Legal Immigrants Act of
1999'.
SEC. 2. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIEN PREGNANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN
FOR MEDICAID.
(a) IN GENERAL- Subtitle A of title IV of the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611-1614) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
`SEC. 405. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS FOR MEDICAID.
`(a) OPTIONAL MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN ALIENS- A State may
elect to waive (through an amendment to its State plan under title XIX
of the Social Security Act) the application of sections 401(a), 402(b),
403, and 421 with respect to eligibility for medical assistance under the
program defined in section 402(b)(3)(C) (relating to the Medicaid Program)
of aliens who are lawfully residing in the United States (including battered
aliens described in section 431(c)), within any or all (or any combination)
of the following categories of individuals:
`(1) PREGNANT WOMEN- Women during pregnancy (and during the 60-day
period beginning on the last day of the pregnancy).
`(2) CHILDREN- Children (as defined under such plan), including optional
targeted low-income children described in section 1905(u)(2)(B).'.
(b) APPLICABILITY OF AFFIDAVITS OF SUPPORT- Section 213A(a) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1183a(a)) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
`(4) INAPPLICABILITY TO BENEFITS PROVIDED UNDER A STATE WAIVER- For
purposes of this section, the term `means-tested public benefits' does
not include benefits provided pursuant to a State election and waiver described
in section 405 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act of 1996.'.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS-
(1) Section 401(a) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611(a)) is amended by inserting `and
section 405' after `subsection (b)'.
(2) Section 402(b)(1) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(b)(1)) is amended by inserting
`, section 405,' after `403'.
(3) Section 403(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1613(a)) is amended by inserting
`section 405 and' after `provided in'.
(4) Section 421(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1631(a)) is amended by inserting
`except as provided in section 405,' after `Notwithstanding any other provision
of law,'.
(5) Section 1903(v)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b(v)(1))
is amended by inserting `and except as permitted under a waiver described
in section 405(a) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act of 1996,' after `paragraph (2),'.
(d) RETROACTIVITY OF EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by this section
shall take effect as if included in the enactment of title IV of the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C.
1611 et seq.), except that the amendment made by subsection (b) shall apply
as if included in the enactment of section 551(a) of the Illegal Immigration
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law
104-208).
SEC. 3. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF IMMIGRANT CHILDREN FOR SCHIP.
(a) IN GENERAL- Section 405 of the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as added by section 2(a), is amended--
(1) in the heading, by inserting `and schip' before the period; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(b) OPTIONAL SCHIP ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN ALIENS-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Subject to paragraph (2), a State may also elect to
waive the application of sections 401(a), 402(b), 403, and 421 with respect
to eligibility of children for child health assistance under the State
child health plan of the State under title XXI of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), but only with respect to children who are lawfully
residing in the United States (including children who are battered aliens
described in section 431(c)).
`(2) REQUIREMENT FOR ELECTION- A waiver under this subsection may only
be in effect for a period in which the State has in effect an election
under subsection (a) with respect to the category of individuals described
in subsection (a)(2) (relating to children).'.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by subsection (a) applies to
child health assistance for coverage provided for periods beginning on
or after October 1, 1997.
SEC. 4. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN MEDICALLY NEEDY ALIENS FOR MEDICAID.
(a) OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS WHO ARE BLIND OR DISABLED
MEDICALLY NEEDY ADMITTED AFTER AUGUST 22, 1996-
(1) IN GENERAL- Section 405(a) of the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as added by section 2(a), is amended
by adding at the end the following:
`(3) CERTAIN BLIND OR DISABLED MEDICALLY NEEDY- Individuals who are
considered blind or disabled under section 1614(a) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)) and who, but for sections 401(a), 402(b) and 403
(except as waived under this subsection), would be eligible for medical
assistance under clause (ii)(IV) of section 1902(a)(10)(A) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)), or would be eligible for such
assistance under any other clause of that section of that Act because the
individual, if enrolled in the program under title XVI of the Social Security
Act, would receive supplemental security income benefits or a State supplementary
payment under that title.'.
(2) RETROACTIVITY OF EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by paragraph
(1) shall take effect as if included in the enactment of title IV of the
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
(8 U.S.C. 1611 et seq.).
(b) OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF MEDICALLY NEEDY ALIENS REQUIRING A CERTAIN
LEVEL OF CARE-
(1) IN GENERAL- Section 405 of the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as added by section 2(a) and as
amended by section 3(a) and subsection (a), is further amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
`(c) OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY FOR MEDICALLY NEEDY ALIENS REQUIRING A CERTAIN
LEVEL OF CARE- A State may also elect to waive the application of sections
401(a), 402(b), and 421 with respect to eligibility for medical assistance
under the program defined in section 402(b)(3)(C) (relating to the Medicaid
Program) of aliens who--
`(1) were lawfully residing in the United States on August 22, 1996;
and
`(2) are residents of a nursing facility (as defined in section 1919(a)
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r(a)), or require the level of
care provided in a such a facility or in an intermediate
care facility, the cost of which could be reimbursed under the State plan
under title XIX of that Act.'.
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take
effect as if included in the enactment of title IV of the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611 et seq.).
SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS FOR SSI.
(a) AGED ALIENS LAWFULLY RESIDING IN THE UNITED STATES ON AUGUST 22,
1996- Section 402(a)(2) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
`(L) SSI EXCEPTION FOR AGED ALIENS LAWFULLY RESIDING IN THE UNITED
STATES ON AUGUST 22, 1996- With respect to eligibility for the program
defined in paragraph (3)(A), paragraph (1) shall not apply to any individual
who was lawfully residing in the United States on August 22, 1996, and
has attained age 65.'.
(b) BLIND OR DISABLED QUALIFIED ALIENS WHO ENTERED THE UNITED STATES
AFTER AUGUST 22, 1996-
(1) IN GENERAL- Section 402(a)(2) of the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)), as amended
by subsection (a), is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(M) SSI EXCEPTION FOR BLIND OR DISABLED QUALIFIED ALIENS WHO ENTERED
THE UNITED STATES AFTER AUGUST 22, 1996- With respect to eligibility for
the program defined in paragraph (3)(A), paragraph (1) and section 421
shall not apply to any individual who entered the United States on or after
August 22, 1996 with a status within the meaning of the term `qualified
alien', and became blind or disabled (within the meaning of section 1614(a)
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a))) after the date of such
entry.'.
(2) EXCEPTION FROM 5-YEAR BAN- Section 403(b) of the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613(b)) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
`(3) CERTAIN BLIND OR DISABLED ALIENS- An alien described in section
402(a)(2)(M), but only with respect to the programs specified in subsections
(a)(3)(A) and (b)(3)(C) of section 402 (and, with respect to such programs,
section 421 shall not apply to such an alien).'.
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Section 421(a) of the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1631(a)), as
amended by section 2(c)(4), is amended by inserting `, section 402(a)(2)(M),
and section 403(b)(3)' after section `405'.
(4) ENFORCEMENT OF AFFIDAVITS OF SUPPORT- For provisions relating to
the enforcement of affidavits of support in cases of individuals made eligible
for benefits under the amendment made by paragraph (1), see section 213A
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1183a).
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b)
are effective with respect to benefits payable for months after the month
in which this Act is enacted, but only on the basis of applications filed
on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS FOR FOOD STAMPS.
(a) IN GENERAL- Section 402(a)(2) of the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)), as amended
by section 5(b)(1), is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(N) FOOD STAMP EXCEPTION FOR ALIENS LAWFULLY RESIDING IN THE UNITED
STATES ON AUGUST 22, 1996- With respect to eligibility for benefits for
the specified Federal program described in paragraph (3)(B), paragraph
(1) shall not apply to an individual who was lawfully residing in the United
States on August 22, 1996.'.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by subsection (a) applies to
benefits under the food stamp program, as defined in section 3(h) of the
Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2012(h)) for months beginning at least
30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. ELIGIBILITY OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS SUFFERING FROM DOMESTIC ABUSE.
(a) EXEMPTION FROM SSI AND FOOD STAMPS BAN- Section 402(a)(2) of the
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
(8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)), as amended by section 6(a), is amended by adding
at the end the following:
`(O) BATTERED IMMIGRANTS- With respect to eligibility for benefits
for a specified Federal program (as defined in paragraph (3)), paragraph
(1) shall not apply to any individual described in section 431(c).'.
(b) EXEMPTION FROM 5-YEAR BAN- Section 403(b) of the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613(b)), as
amended by section 5(b)(2), is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(4) BATTERED IMMIGRANTS- An alien described in section 431(c).'.
(c) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF BATTERED IMMIGRANTS-
(1) IN GENERAL- Section 431(c) of the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(c)) is amended--
(A) in paragraphs (1)(A), (2)(A), and (3)(A) by inserting ` or the
benefits to be provided would alleviate the harm from such battery or cruelty
or would enable the alien to avoid such battery or cruelty in the future'
before the semicolon; and
(B) in the matter following paragraph (3), by inserting ` and for determining
whether the benefits to be provided under a specific Federal, State, or
local program would alleviate the harm from such battery or extreme cruelty
or would enable the alien to avoid such battery or extreme cruelty in the
future' before the period.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT REGARDING SPONSOR DEEMING- Section 421(f)(1)
of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1631(f)(1)) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting `or would alleviate the harm
from such battery or cruelty, or would enable the alien to avoid such battery
or cruelty in the future' before the semicolon; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting `or would alleviate the harm
from such battery or cruelty, or would enable the alien to avoid such battery
or cruelty in the future' before the period.
(d) CONFORMING DEFINITION OF `FAMILY' USED IN LAWS GRANTING FEDERAL
PUBLIC BENEFIT ACCESS FOR BATTERED IMMIGRANTS TO STATE FAMILY LAW- Section
431(c) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking `by a spouse or a parent, or by
a member of the spouse or parent's family residing in the same household
as the alien and the spouse or parent consented to, or acquiesced in, such
battery or cruelty,' and inserting `by a spouse, parent, son, or daughter,
or by any individual having a relationship with the alien covered by the
civil or criminal domestic violence statutes of the State or Indian country
where the alien resides, or the State or Indian country in which the alien,
the alien's child, or the alien child's parents received a protection order,
or by any individual against whom the alien could obtain a protection order,';
and
(2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking `by a spouse or parent of the
alien (without the active participation of the alien in the battery or
cruelty), or by a member of the spouse or parent's family residing in the
same household as the alien and the spouse or parent consented or acquiesced
to such battery or cruelty,' and inserting `by a spouse, parent, son, or
daughter of the alien (without the active participation of alien in the
battery or cruelty) or by any individual having a relationship with the
alien covered by the civil or criminal domestic violence statutes of the
State or Indian county where the alien resides, or the State or Indian
country in which the alien, the alien's child, or the alien child's parent
received a protection order, or by any individual against whom the alien
could obtain a protection order,'.
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by this section apply to Federal
means-tested public benefits provided on or after the date of enactment
of this Act.
END