CHN: Senator Rand Paul Blocks Aid to Poor Elderly and Disabled Refugees
One person can make a difference. In the U.S. Senate, Senator Paul (R-KY) used that power to block the extension of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to refugees who have not been able to pass a citizenship test within 7 years, as required by law. The deadline has been extended twice because the impoverished 5,600 refugees in question are elderly, blind, deaf, or otherwise disabled. Many have been admitted under this program because they helped American troops in Iraq or Afghanistan, or have been victims of torture or persecution. They are too old or disabled to work.