Reps. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) and Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) outlined bipartisan legislation on Monday that would end federal benefits for Nazi war criminals.
The members of Congress shared their Nazi Benefits Termination Act of 2014 with Jewish leaders at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, saying they would introduce it to Congress when the session returns in mid-November.
“The world can never forget the hate and intolerance that claimed the lives of millions and forever scarred the face of mankind,” Lance said. “Congress must close this loophole and right this wrong in the name of the lives that were lost. To think Nazis are living off the tax funds of the children of liberators is sickening and morally wrong. Congress must put an end to it.”
Lance is the co-chair of the Republican Israel Caucus.
The issue was sparked by a recent Associated Press investigation that revealed dozens of suspected Nazi war criminals and SS guards collected millions of dollars in Social Security benefits from the United States after being forced out of the country. The story stated the payments slipped through a legal loophole that gave the U.S. Justice Department leverage to persuade Nazi suspects to leave the U.S.
The legislation by Lance and Maloney would also establish a new immigration hearing process in order to terminate all federal benefits to Nazi war criminals and charge the Department of Justice with bringing individual cases forward to terminate benefits.