II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 792

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 14, 1999

Mr. DASCHLE for Mr. MOYNIHAN (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. KENNEDY,

Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WELLSTONE, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

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.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness for Legal Im5 migrants Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIEN PREG2 NANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN FOR MED3 ICAID.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the Per5 sonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation

6 Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611–1614) is amended by adding

7 at the end the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 405. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS FOR

9 MEDICAID.

10 ‘‘(a) OPTIONAL MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY FOR CER11 TAIN ALIENS.—A State may elect to waive (through an

12 amendment to its State plan under title XIX of the Social

13 Security Act) the application of sections 401(a), 402(b),

14 403, and 421 with respect to eligibility for medical assist15 ance under the program defined in section 402(b)(3)(C)

16 (relating to the medicaid program) of aliens who are law17 fully residing in the United States (including battered

18 aliens described in section 431(c)), within any or all (or

19 any combination) of the following categories of individuals:

20 ‘‘(1) PREGNANT WOMEN.—Women during preg21 nancy (and during the 60-day period beginning on

22 the last day of the pregnancy).

23 ‘‘(2) CHILDREN.—Children (as defined under

24 such plan), including optional targeted low-income

25 children described in section 1905(u)(2)(B).’’.
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1 (b) APPLICABILITY OF AFFIDAVITS OF SUPPORT.—

2 Section 213A(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

3 (8 U.S.C. 1183a(a)) is amended by adding at the end the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(4) INAPPLICABILITY TO BENEFITS PROVIDED

6 UNDER A STATE WAIVER.—For purposes of this sec7 tion, the term ‘means-tested public benefits’ does not

8 include benefits provided pursuant to a State elec9 tion and waiver described in section 405 of the Per10 sonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec11 onciliation Act of 1996.’’.

12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

13 (1) Section 401(a) of the Personal Responsi14 bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

15 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611(a)) is amended by inserting

16 ‘‘and section 405’’ after ‘‘subsection (b)’’.

17 (2) Section 402(b)(1) of the Personal Responsi18 bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

19 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(b)(1)) is amended by inserting

20 ‘‘, section 405,’’ after ‘‘403’’.

21 (3) Section 403(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C.

22 1613(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘section 405 and’’

23 after ‘‘provided in’’.

24 (4) Section 421(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C.

25 1631(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘except as pro-
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1 vided in section 405,’’ after ‘‘Notwithstanding any

2 other provision of law,’’.

3 (5) Section 1903(v)(1) of the Social Security

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b(v)(1)) is amended by insert5 ing ‘‘and except as permitted under a waiver de6 scribed in section 405(a) of the Personal Responsi7 bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

8 1996,’’ after ‘‘paragraph (2),’’.

9 (d) RETROACTIVITY OF EFFECTIVE DATE.—The

10 amendments made by this section shall take effect as if

11 included in the enactment of title IV of the Personal Re12 sponsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

13 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611 et seq.), except that the amendment

14 made by subsection (b) shall apply as if included in the

15 enactment of section 551(a) of the Illegal Immigration Re16 form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division

17 C of Public Law 104–208).

18 SEC. 3. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF IMMIGRANT CHILDREN

19 FOR SCHIP.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 405 of the Personal Re21 sponsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

22 1996, as added by section 2(a), is amended—

23 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘AND SCHIP’’

24 before the period; and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section:

3 ‘‘(b) OPTIONAL SCHIP ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN

4 ALIENS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a

6 State may also elect to waive the application of sec7 tions 401(a), 402(b), 403, and 421 with respect to

8 eligibility of children for child health assistance

9 under the State child health plan of the State under

10 title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

11 1397aa et seq.), but only with respect to children

12 who are lawfully residing in the United States (in13 cluding children who are battered aliens described in

14 section 431(c)).

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT FOR ELECTION.—A waiver

16 under this subsection may only be in effect for a pe17 riod in which the State has in effect an election

18 under subsection (a) with respect to the category of

19 individuals described in subsection (a)(2) (relating to

20 children).’’.

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

22 subsection (a) applies to child health assistance for cov23 erage provided for periods beginning on or after October

24 1, 1997.
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1 SEC. 4. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN MEDICALLY

2 NEEDY ALIENS FOR MEDICAID.

3 (a) OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS

4 WHO ARE BLIND OR DISABLED MEDICALLY NEEDY AD5 MITTED AFTER AUGUST 22, 1996.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 405(a) of the Per7 sonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec8 onciliation Act of 1996, as added by section 2(a), is

9 amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN BLIND OR DISABLED MEDICALLY

11 NEEDY.—Individuals who are considered blind or

12 disabled under section 1614(a) of the Social Security

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)) and who, but for sections

14 401(a), 402(b) and 403 (except as waived under this

15 subsection), would be eligible for medical assistance

16 under clause (ii)(IV) of section 1902(a)(10)(A) of

17 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

18 1396a(a)(10)(A)), or would be eligible for such as19 sistance under any other clause of that section of

20 that Act because the individual, if enrolled in the

21 program under title XVI of the Social Security Act,

22 would receive supplemental security income benefits

23 or a State supplementary payment under that

24 title.’’.

25 (2) RETROACTIVITY OF EFFECTIVE DATE.—The

26 amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take effect
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1 as if included in the enactment of title IV of the

2 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec3 onciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611 et seq.).

4 (b) OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF MEDICALLY NEEDY

5 ALIENS REQUIRING A CERTAIN LEVEL OF CARE.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 405 of the Personal

7 Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation

8 Act of 1996, as added by section 2(a) and as amend9 ed by section 3(a) and subsection (a), is further

10 amended by adding at the end the following new

11 subsection:

12 ‘‘(c) OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY FOR MEDICALLY NEEDY

13 ALIENS REQUIRING A CERTAIN LEVEL OF CARE.—A

14 State may also elect to waive the application of sections

15 401(a), 402(b), and 421 with respect to eligibility for med16 ical assistance under the program defined in section

17 402(b)(3)(C) (relating to the medicaid program) of aliens

18 who—

19 ‘‘(1) were lawfully residing in the United States

20 on August 22, 1996; and

21 ‘‘(2) are residents of a nursing facility (as de22 fined in section 1919(a) of the Social Security Act

23 (42 U.S.C. 1396r(a)), or require the level of care

24 provided in a such a facility or in an intermediate
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1 care facility, the cost of which could be reimbursed

2 under the State plan under title XIX of that Act.’’.

3 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

4 by paragraph (1) shall take effect as if included in

5 the enactment of title IV of the Personal Responsi6 bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

7 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611 et seq.).

8 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS FOR SSI.

9 (a) AGED ALIENS LAWFULLY RESIDING IN THE

10 UNITED STATES ON AUGUST 22, 1996.—Section

11 402(a)(2) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Oppor12 tunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2))

13 is amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(L) SSI EXCEPTION FOR AGED ALIENS

15 LAWFULLY RESIDING IN THE UNITED STATES

16 ON AUGUST 22, 1996.—With respect to eligibility

17 for the program defined in paragraph (3)(A),

18 paragraph (1) shall not apply to any individual

19 who was lawfully residing in the United States

20 on August 22, 1996, and has attained age 65.’’.

21 (b) BLIND OR DISABLED QUALIFIED ALIENS WHO

22 ENTERED THE UNITED STATES AFTER AUGUST 22,

23 1996.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(a)(2) of the

25 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec-
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1 onciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)), as

2 amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding at

3 the end the following:

4 ‘‘(M) SSI EXCEPTION FOR BLIND OR DIS5 ABLED QUALIFIED ALIENS WHO ENTERED THE

6 UNITED STATES AFTER AUGUST 22, 1996.—With

7 respect to eligibility for the program defined in

8 paragraph (3)(A), paragraph (1) and section

9 421 shall not apply to any individual who en10 tered the United States on or after August 22,

11 1996 with a status within the meaning of the

12 term ‘qualified alien’, and became blind or dis13 abled (within the meaning of section 1614(a) of

14 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)))

15 after the date of such entry.’’.

16 (2) EXCEPTION FROM 5-YEAR BAN.—Section

17 403(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Op18 portunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C.

19 1613(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing:

21 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN BLIND OR DISABLED ALIENS.—

22 An alien described in section 402(a)(2)(M), but only

23 with respect to the programs specified in subsections

24 (a)(3)(A) and (b)(3)(C) of section 402 (and, with re-
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1 spect to such programs, section 421 shall not apply

2 to such an alien).’’.

3 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

4 421(a) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Op5 portunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C.

6 1631(a)), as amended by section 2(c)(4), is amended

7 by inserting ‘‘, section 402(a)(2)(M), and section

8 403(b)(3)’’ after section ‘‘405’’.

9 (4) ENFORCEMENT OF AFFIDAVITS OF SUP10 PORT.—For provisions relating to the enforcement

11 of affidavits of support in cases of individuals made

12 eligible for benefits under the amendment made by

13 paragraph (1), see section 213A of the Immigration

14 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1183a).

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

16 subsections (a) and (b) are effective with respect to bene17 fits payable for months after the month in which this Act

18 is enacted, but only on the basis of applications filed on

19 or after the date of enactment of this Act.

20 SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS FOR FOOD

21 STAMPS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(a)(2) of the Personal

23 Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act

24 of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)), as amended by section

25 5(b)(1), is amended by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(N) FOOD STAMP EXCEPTION FOR

2 ALIENS LAWFULLY RESIDING IN THE UNITED

3 STATES ON AUGUST 22, 1996.—With respect to

4 eligibility for benefits for the specified Federal

5 program described in paragraph (3)(B), para6 graph (1) shall not apply to an individual who

7 was lawfully residing in the United States on

8 August 22, 1996.’’.

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

10 subsection (a) applies to benefits under the food stamp

11 program, as defined in section 3(h) of the Food Stamp

12 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2012(h)) for months beginning at

13 least 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

14 SEC. 7. ELIGIBILITY OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS SUFFERING

15 FROM DOMESTIC ABUSE.

16 (a) EXEMPTION FROM SSI AND FOOD STAMPS

17 BAN.—Section 402(a)(2) of the Personal Responsibility

18 and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8

19 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)), as amended by section 6(a), is amend20 ed by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(O) BATTERED IMMIGRANTS.—With re22 spect to eligibility for benefits for a specified

23 Federal program (as defined in paragraph (3)),

24 paragraph (1) shall not apply to any individual

25 described in section 431(c).’’.
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1 (b) EXEMPTION FROM 5-YEAR BAN.—Section 403(b)

2 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec3 onciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613(b)), as amended

4 by section 5(b)(2), is amended by adding at the end the

5 following:

6 ‘‘(4) BATTERED IMMIGRANTS.—An alien de7 scribed in section 431(c).’’.

8 (c) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF BATTERED IMMI9 GRANTS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 431(c) of the Per11 sonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec12 onciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(c)) is

13 amended—

14 (A) in paragraphs (1)(A), (2)(A), and

15 (3)(A) by inserting ‘‘ or the benefits to be pro16 vided would alleviate the harm from such bat17 tery or cruelty or would enable the alien to

18 avoid such battery or cruelty in the future’’ be19 fore the semicolon; and

20 (B) in the matter following paragraph (3),

21 by inserting ‘‘ and for determining whether the

22 benefits to be provided under a specific Federal,

23 State, or local program would alleviate the

24 harm from such battery or extreme cruelty or

25 would enable the alien to avoid such battery or
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1 extreme cruelty in the future’’ before the pe2 riod.

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT REGARDING

4 SPONSOR DEEMING.—Section 421(f)(1) of the Per5 sonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec6 onciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1631(f)(1)) is

7 amended—

8 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or

9 would alleviate the harm from such battery or

10 cruelty, or would enable the alien to avoid such

11 battery or cruelty in the future’’ before the

12 semicolon; and

13 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or

14 would alleviate the harm from such battery or

15 cruelty, or would enable the alien to avoid such

16 battery or cruelty in the future’’ before the pe17 riod.

18 (d) CONFORMING DEFINITION OF ‘‘FAMILY’’ USED

19 IN LAWS GRANTING FEDERAL PUBLIC BENEFIT ACCESS

20 FOR BATTERED IMMIGRANTS TO STATE FAMILY LAW.—

21 Section 431(c) of the Personal Responsibility and Work

22 Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C.

23 1641(c)) is amended—

24 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘by a

25 spouse or a parent, or by a member of the spouse
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1 or parent’s family residing in the same household as

2 the alien and the spouse or parent consented to, or

3 acquiesced in, such battery or cruelty,’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘by a spouse, parent, son, or daughter, or by

5 any individual having a relationship with the alien

6 covered by the civil or criminal domestic violence

7 statutes of the State or Indian country where the

8 alien resides, or the State or Indian country in

9 which the alien, the alien’s child, or the alien child’s

10 parents received a protection order, or by any indi11 vidual against whom the alien could obtain a protec12 tion order,’’; and

13 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘by a

14 spouse or parent of the alien (without the active par15 ticipation of the alien in the battery or cruelty), or

16 by a member of the spouse or parent’s family resid17 ing in the same household as the alien and the

18 spouse or parent consented or acquiesced to such

19 battery or cruelty,’’ and inserting ‘‘by a spouse, par20 ent, son, or daughter of the alien (without the active

21 participation of alien in the battery or cruelty) or by

22 any individual having a relationship with the alien

23 covered by the civil or criminal domestic violence

24 statutes of the State or Indian county where the

25 alien resides, or the State or Indian country in
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1 which the alien, the alien’s child, or the alien child’s

2 parent received a protection order, or by any indi3 vidual against whom the alien could obtain a protec4 tion order,’’.

5 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

6 this section apply to Federal means-tested public benefits

7 provided on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

Æ