Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on Senate passage last night of a bipartisan, bicameral bill to terminate Social Security benefits for suspected Nazi persecutors. Grassley is a sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, the No Social Security for Nazis Act. The Senate passage clears the bill for the President’s consideration. Earlier this week, Grassley and Sen. Orrin Hatch wrote to the Social Security Administration and the Justice Department on Social Security benefits given to suspected ex-Nazis. It’s unclear why the federal government allowed millions of dollars to flow to these individuals, including those who have left the country. Record-keeping discrepancies have exacerbated uncertainty and confusion over U.S. government practice and policy on allowing ex-Nazis to retain their Social Security benefits.
“Once signed into law, this bill will enshrine what should have been the policy of the Justice Department in the first place. Suspected Nazi war criminals should in no event be permitted to retain Social Security benefits. However, the agencies that permitted the benefits still need to explain their actions and commit to enforcing the law as written going forward. I look forward to responses from the Social Security Administration and the Justice Department to the letters Senator Hatch and I sent.”
The Grassley-Hatch letter to Social Security Administration Acting Commissioner Carolyn W. Colvin is available here. The Grassley-Hatch letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. is available here.
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