The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“UNIFORM RELOCATION ASSISTANCE AND REAL PROPERTY ACQUISITION POLICIES ACT OF 1970 AMENDMENT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S12207-S12209 on Nov. 8, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
UNIFORM RELOCATION ASSISTANCE AND REAL PROPERTY ACQUISITION POLICIES
ACT OF 1970 AMENDMENT
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. 1258.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1258) to amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate consideration of the bill?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Amendment No. 1617
(Purpose: Technical Amendment)
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, Senator Bennett has an amendment at the desk, and I ask for its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Idaho (Mr. Craig), for Mr. Bennett, proposes an amendment numbered 1617.
On page 2, line 3, strike ``(a)''.
On page 3, line 4, strike ``, under this Act,''.
On page 3, beginning on line 5, strike ``on the basis of race, color, or national origin''.
Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I rise today to make a brief statement regarding S. 1258, a bill I introduced on October 6, 1997. This legislation will amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 to prohibit an alien not lawfully present in the United States from receiving assistance under that act. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has reviewed this bill and approved it for Senate floor action.
My purpose in bringing this bill before the Senate is to address a loophole that was inadvertently created when immigration and welfare reform bills were recently enacted. In part, these bills were crafted to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States by denying Federal taxpayer paid benefits to illegal aliens. Currently, illegal aliens are still eligible to receive relocation assistance. Often, this assistance turns out to be a significant sum of money.
This legislation was originally introduced in the other body following an incident in California in which an illegal immigrant was awarded $12,000 because her legal status in this country made her ineligible to be moved into section 8 housing. In other instances, relocation assistance is being awarded to illegal aliens who then use the money to buy homes in their countries of origin.
This legislation simply closes a loophole which was overlooked in previous legislation and fully complies with the intent of Congress when it enacted immigration and welfare reform laws. I note that this legislation will not affect foreign nationals residing in the United States as legal residents or under the legal protection of a valid visa. In addition, the bill provides Federal agencies the ability to waive the provisions of this act in case of an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship.
I have one technical amendment to bring the bill into conformance with the legislation already passed by the other body. This amendment does not change the substance of the bill and I ask that it be considered with the bill. I have worked closely with the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in bringing this bill to the floor. I appreciate their support and the help of committee staff in moving this legislation toward enactment.
Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, today the Senate is considering S. 1258, a bill introduced by Senator Bennett to amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 to prohibit an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States from receiving assistance under that act. The Committee on Environment and Public Works unanimously approved this bill on Wednesday, October 29, 1997.
S. 1258 includes several features, in addition to the general provision prohibiting illegal aliens from receiving Federal assistance, to ensure that the act is carried out in a fair manner. In cases of extreme and unusual hardship, S. 1258 leaves it to the discretion of the Department of Transportation to provide a waiver to the ineligibility that is otherwise applicable. In addition, rights to compensation that an illegal alien may have under other Federal or State laws are not affected.
I ask for unanimous consent that a letter from the Congressional Budget Office be printed in the Record.
Mr. President, I encourage Senate adoption of this necessary measure.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office
Washington, DC, November 3, 1997.Hon. John H. Chafee,Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1258, a bill to amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 to prohibit an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States from receiving assistance under that Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis (for federal costs), who can be reached at 226-2860, and Kristen Layman (for the state and local impact), who can be reached at 225-3220.
Sincerely,
June E. O'Neill, Director.
Enclosure.
congressional budget office, cost estimate
S. 1258.--A bill to amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 to prohibit an alien who is not lawfully present in the
United States from receiving assistance under that Act
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1258 would cost the federal government less than $500,000 over the next year or two, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. The bill would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. S. 1258 would impose no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 and would impose no significant costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
S. 1258 would prevent persons who are not lawfully present in the United States from receiving relocation payments or other assistance when real property they occupy is acquired by a federal agency or with federal financing. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to promulgate regulations within one year of enactment to implement the new law, including rules for determining whether a displaced person is lawfully present in the country and standards for judging when exceptions should be made for unusual hardship. DOT also would be responsible for providing agencies with information on proper implementation of the law through training and technical assistance.
Based on information provided by DOT and other agencies, and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that DOT and other federal agencies would spend less than $500,000 to develop the necessary regulations, guidelines, and training programs to implement the legislation. We expect that the bill would have little or no effect on total property acquisition costs because so few transactions are likely to involve aliens who reside illegally in this country.
The bill would place a new requirement on state, local, and in some circumstances, tribal entities carrying out programs or projects with federal financial assistance that result in the displacement of persons. As a condition of receiving such assistance, the affected entities would have to determine whether displaced persons are lawfully present in the United States. Based on discussions with the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and affected state and local agencies, CBO estimates that the additional administrative costs to state, local, and tribal governments would be minimal.
On June 20, 1997, CBO prepared a cost estimate for H.R. 849, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on June 11, 1997. The two bills are similar and the estimates are identical.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis
(for federal costs), who can be reached at 226-2860, and Kristen Layman (for the state and local impact), who can be reached at 225-3220. This estimate was approved by Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to, the bill be considered read the third time and passed, as amended, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill appear in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered
The amendment (No. 1617) was agreed to.
The bill (S. 1258), as amended, was passed, as follows:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DISPLACED PERSONS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE.
Title I of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 104. DISPLACED PERSONS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE.
``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (c), a displaced person shall not be eligible to receive relocation payments or any other assistance under this Act if the displaced person is an alien not lawfully present in the United States.
``(b) Determinations of Eligibility.--
``(1) Promulgation of regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, after providing notice and an opportunity for public comment, the head of the lead agency shall promulgate regulations to carry out subsection (a).
``(2) Contents of regulations.--Regulations promulgated under paragraph (1) shall--
``(A) prescribe the processes, procedures, and information that a displacing agency must use in determining whether a displaced person is an alien not lawfully present in the United States;
``(B) prohibit a displacing agency from discriminating, against any displaced person;
``(C) ensure that each eligibility determination is fair and based on reliable information; and
``(D) prescribe standards for a displacing agency to apply in making determinations relating to exceptional and extremely unusual hardship under subsection (c).
``(c) Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship.--If a displacing agency determines by clear and convincing evidence that a determination of the ineligibility of a displaced person under subsection (a) would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to an individual who is the displaced person's spouse, parent, or child and who is a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, the displacing agency shall provide relocation payments and other assistance to the displaced person under this Act if the displaced person would be eligible for the assistance but for subsection (a).
``(d) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this section affects any right available to a displaced person under any other provision of Federal or State law.''.
SEC. 2. DUTIES OF LEAD AGENCY.
Section 213(a) of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4633(a)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) provide, in consultation with the Attorney General
(acting through the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service), through training and technical assistance activities for displacing agencies, information developed with the Attorney General (acting through the Commissioner) on proper implementation of section 104;
``(3) ensure that displacing agencies implement section 104 fairly and without discrimination in accordance with section 104(b)(2)(B);''.
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