House Passes Bipartisan Bill to End Social Security Benefits for Nazis

Press Release

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5739, the No Social Security for Nazis Act, with unanimous support from both sides of the aisle. Introduced by Ways and Means Social Security Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Ranking Member Xavier Becerra (D-CA), H.R. 5739 would stop Social Security benefits to Nazis.

In introducing the bill on the House floor, Chairman Johnson said, "For many years, a loophole has allowed Nazis to get Social Security benefits. While the number of Nazis receiving Social Security is few, allowing payments to continue is an insult to those who suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Today the House took an important step to right this wrong. I urge the Senate to immediately take up this bill and send it to the President."

Ranking Member Becerra added, "The perpetrators of the Holocaust have no place in the United States of America and under no circumstances should they have access to our crown jewel, Social Security. Thanks to bipartisan work in both the House and Senate, Congress is taking swift action to ensure that these heinous war criminals can no longer exploit a loophole to receive benefits. This vote shows that Congress can and will continue to protect the hard-earned Social Security benefits that millions of Americans rely on."

Specifically, the bill amends the law to:

-Stop benefit payments to those denaturalized due to participation in Nazi persecutions (as defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act) or who voluntarily renounced their citizenship as part of a settlement with the Attorney General related to their participation in Nazi persecution (those who are judicially deported are already ineligible for Social Security under current law);

-Ensure individuals who are ineligible for benefits based on participation in Nazi persecutions do not receive spouse benefits due to marriage to a Social Security beneficiary or Supplemental Security Income benefits; and

-Requires the Attorney General to certify to the Ways and Means Committee and Finance Committee that Social Security has been notified of all those whose benefits should be terminated due to participation in Nazi persecutions and requires the Commissioner of Social Security to certify that benefits were terminated.

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