Union Calendar No. 207

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1788

[Report No. 106–321, Parts I and II]

A BILL

To deny Federal public benefits to individuals who

participated in Nazi persecution.

SEPTEMBER 14, 1999

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary

OCTOBER 6, 1999

Reported from the Committee on Government Reform

with an amendment, committed to the Committee ofthe Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
IB

Union Calendar No. 207

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1788

[Report No. 106–321, Parts I and II]

To deny Federal public benefits to individuals who participated in Nazi

persecution.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 13, 1999

Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, and Mr. LANTOS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform, 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

SEPTEMBER 14, 1999

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary

SEPTEMBER 14, 1999

Referral to the Committee on Government Reform extended for a period

ending not later than October 1, 1999

OCTOBER 1, 1999

Referral to the Committee on Government Reform extended for a period

ending not later than October 6, 1999

OCTOBER 6, 1999

Additional sponsors: Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. FROST, Mr. SANFORD, Ms.

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. KASICH, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr.

WEINER, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. WAXMAN, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. SNYDER, Mr.

DOYLE, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. GUTIERREZ,

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. BOYD, Mr.

FOLEY, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. MCINTOSH, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. ROSLEHTINEN, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin,

Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. TURNER, Mr. ROGAN, Ms. JACKSONLEE of Texas, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Ms.
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WOOLSEY, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. SWEENEY, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. MENENDEZ,

Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. PASCRELL, Mrs.

MALONEY of New York, and Mr. MCGOVERN

OCTOBER 6, 1999

Reported from the Committee on Government Reform with an amendment,

committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the

Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To deny Federal public benefits to individuals who

participated in Nazi persecution.

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 ‘‘Nazi Benefits Termi5 nation Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. DENIAL OF FEDERAL PUBLIC BENEFITS TO NAZI

7 PERSECUTORS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law, an individual who is determined under this

10 Act to have been a participant in Nazi persecution is not

11 eligible for any Federal public benefit.

12 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:

13 (1) FEDERAL PUBLIC BENEFIT.—The term

14 ‘‘Federal public benefit’’ shall have the meaning

15 given such term by section 401(c)(1) of the Personal

16 Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
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1 Act of 1996, but shall not include any benefit de2 scribed in section 401(b)(1) of such Act (and, for

3 purposes of applying such section 401(b)(1), the

4 term ‘‘alien’’ shall be considered to mean ‘‘indi5 vidual’’).

6 (2) PARTICIPANT IN NAZI PERSECUTION.—The

7 term ‘‘participant in Nazi persecution’’ means an in8 dividual who—

9 (A) if an alien, is shown by a preponder10 ance of the evidence to fall within the class of

11 persons who (if present within the United

12 States) would be deportable under section

13 237(a)(4)(D) of the Immigration and Nation14 ality Act; or

15 (B) if a citizen, is shown by a preponder16 ance of the evidence—

17 (i) to have procured citizenship ille18 gally or by concealment of a material fact

19 or willful misrepresentation within the

20 meaning of section 340(a) of the Immigra21 tion and Nationality Act; and

22 (ii) to have participated in Nazi perse23 cution within the meaning of section

24 212(a)(3)(E) of the Immigration and Na25 tionality Act.
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1 SEC. 3. DETERMINATIONS.

2 (a) HEARING BY IMMIGRATION JUDGE.—If the At3 torney General has reason to believe that an individual

4 who has applied for or is receiving a Federal public benefit

5 may have been a participant in Nazi persecution (within

6 the meaning of section 2 of this Act), the Attorney General

7 may provide an opportunity for a hearing on the record

8 with respect to the matter. The Attorney General may del9 egate the conduct of the hearing to an immigration judge

10 appointed by the Attorney General under section

11 101(b)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

12 (b) PROCEDURE.—

13 (1) RIGHT OF RESPONDENTS TO APPEAR.—

14 (A) CITIZENS, PERMANENT RESIDENT

15 ALIENS, AND PERSONS PRESENT IN THE

16 UNITED STATES.—At a hearing under this sec17 tion, each respondent may appear in person if

18 the respondent is a United States citizen, a per19 manent resident alien, or present within the

20 United States when the proceeding under this

21 section is initiated.

22 (B) OTHERS.—A respondent who is not a

23 citizen, a permanent resident alien, or present

24 within the United States when the proceeding

25 under this section is initiated may appear by

26 video conference.
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1 (C) RULE OF INTERPRETATION.—This Act

2 shall not be construed to permit the return to

3 the United States of an individual who is inad4 missible under section 212(a)(3)(E) of the Im5 migration and Nationality Act.

6 (2) OTHER RIGHTS OF RESPONDENTS.—At a

7 hearing under this section, each respondent may be

8 represented by counsel at no expense to the Federal

9 Government, present evidence, cross-examine wit10 nesses, and obtain the issuance of subpoenas for the

11 attendance of witnesses and presentation of evi12 dence.

13 (3) RULES OF EVIDENCE.—Unless otherwise

14 provided in this Act, rules regarding the presen15 tation of evidence in the hearing shall apply in the

16 same manner in which such rules would apply in a

17 removal proceeding before a United States immigra18 tion judge under section 240 of the Immigration and

19 Nationality Act.

20 (c) HEARINGS, FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS, AND

21 ORDER.—

22 (1) FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS.—Within 60

23 days after the end of a hearing conducted under this

24 section, the immigration judge shall make findings

25 of fact and conclusions of law with respect to wheth-
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1 er the respondent has been a participant in Nazi

2 persecution (within the meaning of section 2 of this

3 Act).

4 (2) ORDER.—

5 (A) FINDING THAT RESPONDENT HAS

6 BEEN A PARTICIPANT IN NAZI PERSECUTION.—

7 If the immigration judge finds, by a preponder8 ance of the evidence, that the respondent has

9 been a participant in Nazi persecution (within

10 the meaning of section 2 of this Act), the immi11 gration judge shall promptly issue an order de12 claring the respondent to be ineligible for any

13 Federal public benefit, and prohibiting any per14 son from providing such a benefit, directly or

15 indirectly, to the respondent, and shall transmit

16 a copy of the order to any governmental entity

17 or person known to be so providing such a ben18 efit.

19 (B) FINDING THAT RESPONDENT HAS NOT

20 BEEN A PARTICIPANT IN NAZI PERSECUTION.—

21 If the immigration judge finds that there is in22 sufficient evidence for a finding under subpara23 graph (A) that a respondent has been a partici24 pant in Nazi persecution (within the meaning of
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1 section 2 of this Act), the immigration judge

2 shall issue an order dismissing the proceeding.

3 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE; LIMITATION OF LI4 ABILITY.—

5 (i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—An order

6 issued pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall

7 be effective on the date of issuance.

8 (ii) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.—Not9 withstanding clause (i), a person or entity

10 shall not be found to have provided a ben11 efit to an individual in violation of this Act

12 until the person or entity has received ac13 tual notice of the issuance of an order

14 under subparagraph (A) with respect to

15 the individual and has had a reasonable

16 opportunity to comply with the order.

17 (d) REVIEW BY ATTORNEY GENERAL; SERVICE OF

18 FINAL ORDER.—

19 (1) REVIEW BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At20 torney General may, in her discretion, review any

21 finding or conclusion made, or order issued, under

22 subsection (c), and shall complete the review not

23 later than 30 days after the finding or conclusion is

24 so made, or order is so issued. Otherwise, the find25 ing, conclusion, or order shall be final.
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1 (2) SERVICE OF FINAL ORDER.—The Attorney

2 General shall cause the findings of fact and conclu3 sions of law made with respect to any final order

4 issued under this section, together with a copy of the

5 order, to be served on the respondent involved.

6 (e) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any party aggrieved by a

7 final order issued under this section may obtain a review

8 of the order by the United States Court of Appeals for

9 the Federal Circuit, by filing a petition for such review

10 not later than 30 days after the final order is issued.

11 (f) ISSUE AND CLAIM PRECLUSION.—In any adminis12 trative or judicial proceeding under this Act, the ordinary

13 rules of issue preclusion and claim preclusion shall apply.

14 SEC. 4. JURISDICTION OF UNITED STATES COURT OF AP15 PEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT OVER AP16 PEALS UNDER THIS ACT.

17 Section 1295(a) of title 28, United States Code, is

18 amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

20 (13);

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of para22 graph (14) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(15) of an appeal from a final order issued

25 under the Nazi Benefits Termination Act of 1999.’’.
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nazi Benefits Termi3 nation Act of 1999’’.

4 SEC. 2. DENIAL OF FEDERAL PUBLIC BENEFITS TO NAZI

5 PERSECUTORS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of law, an individual who is determined under this

8 Act to have been a participant in Nazi persecution is not

9 eligible for any Federal public benefit.

10 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:

11 (1) FEDERAL PUBLIC BENEFIT.—The term ‘‘Fed12 eral public benefit’’ shall have the meaning given such

13 term by section 401(c)(1) (without rregard to section

14 401(c)(2)) of the Personal Responsibility and Work

15 Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, but shall not

16 include any benefit described in section 401(b)(1) of

17 such Act (and, for purposes of applying such section

18 401(b)(1), the term ‘‘alien’’ shall be considered to

19 mean ‘‘individual’’).

20 (2) PARTICIPANT IN NAZI PERSECUTION.—The

21 term ‘‘participant in Nazi persecution’’ means an in22 dividual who—

23 (A) if an alien, is shown by a preponder24 ance of the evidence to fall within the class of

25 persons who (if present within the United

26 States) would be deportable under section
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1 237(a)(4)(D) of the Immigration and Nation2 ality Act or inadmissible under section

3 212(a)(3)(E)(i) of such Act; or

4 (B) if a citizen, is shown by a preponder5 ance of the evidence—

6 (i) to have procured citizenship ille7 gally or by concealment of a material fact

8 or willful misrepresentation within the

9 meaning of section 340(a) of the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act; and

11 (ii) to have participated in Nazi perse12 cution within the meaning of section

13 212(a)(3)(E) of the Immigration and Na14 tionality Act.

15 SEC. 3. DETERMINATIONS.

16 (a) HEARING BY IMMIGRATION JUDGE.—If the Attor17 ney General has reason to believe that an individual who

18 has applied for or is receiving a Federal public benefit may

19 have been a participant in Nazi persecution (within the

20 meaning of section 2 of this Act), the Attorney General may

21 provide an opportunity for a hearing on the record with

22 respect to the matter. The Attorney General may delegate

23 the conduct of the hearing to an immigration judge ap24 pointed by the Attorney General under section 101(b)(4) of

25 the Immigration and Nationality Act.
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1 (b) PROCEDURE.—

2 (1) RIGHT OF RESPONDENTS TO APPEAR.—

3 (A) CITIZENS, PERMANENT RESIDENT

4 ALIENS, AND PERSONS PRESENT IN THE UNITED

5 STATES.—At a hearing under this section, each

6 respondent may appear in person if the respond7 ent is a United States citizen, a permanent resi8 dent alien, or present within the United States.

9 (B) OTHERS.—A respondent who is not a

10 citizen, a permanent resident alien, or present

11 within the United States may appear by video

12 conference. A respondent who was present in the

13 United States when the proceeding was initiated

14 and who is no longer present in the United

15 States at the time of hearing may appear by

16 video conference.

17 (C) RULE OF INTERPRETATION.—This Act

18 shall not be construed to permit the return to the

19 United States of an individual who is inadmis20 sible under section 212(a)(3)(E) of the Immigra21 tion and Nationality Act.

22 (D) APPLICATION OF RULES TO OTHER

23 PROCEEDINGS.—The rules described in this

24 paragraph concerning the right of a respondent

25 to appear shall apply to any other hearing, re-
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1 view, conference, or proceeding of any sort in

2 which a determination of an immigration judge

3 or ineligibility of benefits pursuant to this Act is

4 an issue.

5 (2) OTHER RIGHTS OF RESPONDENTS.—At a

6 hearing under this section, each respondent may be

7 represented by counsel (but at no expense to the Fed8 eral Government, present evidence, cross-examine wit9 nesses, and obtain the issuance of subpoenas for the

10 attendance of witnesses and presentation of evidence.

11 (3) RULES OF EVIDENCE.—Unless otherwise pro12 vided in this Act, rules regarding the presentation of

13 evidence in the hearing shall apply in the same man14 ner in which such rules would apply in a removal

15 proceeding before a United States immigration judge

16 under section 240 of the Immigration and Nation17 ality Act.

18 (4) STAY OF PROCEEDINGS.—Hearings brought

19 under this section may be stayed pending resolution

20 of other proceedings or pending appeal only upon the

21 joint request of the parties.

22 (c) HEARINGS, FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS, AND

23 ORDER.—

24 (1) FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS.—Within 60

25 days after the end of a hearing conducted under this
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1 section, the immigration judge shall make findings of

2 fact and conclusions of law with respect to whether

3 the respondent has been a participant in Nazi perse4 cution (within the meaning of section 2 of this Act).

5 (2) ORDER.—

6 (A) FINDING THAT RESPONDENT HAS BEEN

7 A PARTICIPANT IN NAZI PERSECUTION.—If the

8 immigration judge finds, by a preponderance of

9 the evidence, that the respondent has been a par10 ticipant in Nazi persecution (within the mean11 ing of section 2 of this Act), the immigration

12 judge shall promptly issue an order declaring the

13 respondent to be ineligible for any Federal public

14 benefit, and prohibiting any person from pro15 viding such a benefit, directly or indirectly, to

16 the respondent, and shall transmit a copy of the

17 order to any governmental entity or person

18 known to be so providing such a benefit and to

19 any governmental entity or person known to

20 have received an application for benefits that has

21 not been finally adjudicated.

22 (B) FINDING THAT RESPONDENT HAS NOT

23 BEEN A PARTICIPANT IN NAZI PERSECUTION.—If

24 the immigration judge finds that there is insuffi25 cient evidence for a finding under subparagraph
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1 (A) that a respondent has been a participant in

2 Nazi persecution (within the meaning of section

3 2 of this Act), the immigration judge shall issue

4 an order dismissing the proceeding.

5 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE; LIMITATION OF LI6 ABILITY.—

7 (i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—An order issued

8 pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be effec9 tive on the date of issuance.

10 (ii) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.—Not11 withstanding clause (i), a person or entity

12 shall not be found to have provided a benefit

13 to an individual in violation of this Act

14 until the person or entity has received ac15 tual notice of the issuance of an order under

16 subparagraph (A) with respect to the indi17 vidual and has had a reasonable oppor18 tunity to comply with the order.

19 (d) REVIEW BY ATTORNEY GENERAL; SERVICE OF

20 FINAL ORDER.—

21 (1) REVIEW BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attor22 ney General may, in her discretion, review any find23 ing or conclusion made, or order issued, under sub24 section (c), and shall initiate any review not later
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1 than 30 days after the finding or conclusion is so

2 made, or order is so issued.

3 (2) SERVICE OF FINAL ORDER.—The Attorney

4 General shall cause the findings of fact and conclu5 sions of law made with respect to any final order

6 issued under this section, together with a copy of the

7 order, to be served on the respondent involved.

8 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE OF FINAL ORDER.—If the

9 Attorney General does not initiate the review pro10 vided for in paragraph (1), any order, finding, or

11 conclusion under subsection (c) shall become final

12 upon the expiration of 30 days after the finding, con13 clusion, or order is so issued. If the Attorney General

14 does initiate the review provided for in paragraph

15 (1), any order, finding, or conclusion shall become

16 final either upon the issuance of a decision by the At17 torney General or upon expiration of 90 days after

18 the order, finding, or conclusion under subsection (c)

19 is issued, whichever is earlier.

20 (e) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any party aggrieved by a

21 final order issued under this section may obtain a review

22 of the order by the United States Court of Appeals for the

23 Federal Circuit, by filing a petition for such review not

24 later than 30 days after the final order becomes final, or
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1 completion of any review by the Attorney General, which2 ever is later.

3 (f) ISSUE AND CLAIM PRECLUSION.—In any adminis4 trative or judicial proceeding under this Act, the ordinary

5 rules of issue preclusion and claim preclusion shall apply.

6 SEC. 4. JURISDICTION OF UNITED STATES COURT OF AP7 PEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT OVER AP8 PEALS UNDER THIS ACT.

9 Section 1295(a) of title 28, United States Code, is

10 amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

12 (13);

13 (2) by striking the period at the end of para14 graph (14) and inserting ‘‘; and’’;

15 (3) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(15) of an appeal from a final order issued

17 under the Nazi Benefits Termination Act of 1999.’’.