Wake Up America - Part 1

In my January 11th post I alerted my readers about the Social Security travesty that we, the legal American citizens, knew nothing about.

It appears Senator John Ensign from the great State of Nevada read it, agrees, and is taking action.


Ensign aims to derail U.S.-Mexico agreement

Senator says it will cost Americans hundreds of millions of dollars

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign is trying to derail an agreement between the United States and Mexico, which he claims will cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in Social Security benefits.

On the first day of the new session of Congress, the Nevada Republican introduced a bill that would require the Senate and House to vote on the 2004 U.S.-Mexican Totalization Agreement.

"I believe this is a flawed agreement," Ensign said. "Usually, Congress does nothing, and these agreements go into effect. I want Congress to vote on this."

Under current law, undocumented workers from foreign countries cannot qualify for U.S. Social Security benefits.

But Ensign said the agreement could make the U.S. Social Security system susceptible to rampant fraud if Congress passes immigration reform legislation that stalled last year.

"That legislation would give amnesty to illegal immigrants who commit identity theft to get jobs here," Ensign said.

U.S. Commissioner of Social Security Jo Anne Barnhart signed the agreement on June 29, 2004, but it has not been signed by President Bush.

The agreement remains with the Social Security Administration, which is waiting for a response from the Mexican government regarding documents of mutual understanding.

After clearing the Social Security Administration, the agreement still must be approved by the State Department before advancing to the White House.

If the president signs the agreement, Congress would have 60 legislative days to reject it. If neither the House nor the Senate acts, the agreement would go into effect.

The Social Security Administration claims the agreement would save U.S. workers and their employers about $140 million in Mexican social security and health insurance taxes over the first five years of the agreement.

Overall, the United States has totalization agreements with 21 countries and Social Security Administration spokesman Mark Hinkle estimated these pacts save American workers about $800 million annually.

On the other hand, Hinkle said he does not know how much the totalization agreements cost the United States.

Ensign argues the cost of the U.S.-Mexico Totalization Agreement for American taxpayers could be much higher because there are many more Mexican workers receiving U.S. Social Security benefits than Americans receiving social security benefits from Mexico.

For the first five years of the agreement, Ensign said, the United States would be paying about $525 million to Mexican workers in Social Security benefits.

Even including the payments of $140 million from Mexico, the United States stands to lose about $385 million from the Social Security Trust Fund, Ensign said.

The senator added the U.S. Social Security payments to Mexican workers could rise to $650 million per year by 2050, which one of Ensign's staffers described as a "conservative estimate."

Ensign said his bill is an effort to raise the profile of the agreement in hopes of persuading the president not to sign it.

In addition, Ensign said, the Mexican government does not have a reliable system to track births, deaths and marriages which help determine how much a worker or a worker's dependents should receive in Social Security benefits.

Once a foreign worker qualifies for Social Security, that worker and his dependents are eligible for all the program's benefits, Hinkle said.

Tax revenues that fund Social Security are projected to fall below the program's costs by 2017, according to the Social Security Administration. But other estimates have indicated the Social Security Trust Fund will remain solvent until at least 2042.

Ensign complained that Mexican workers can qualify for U.S. Social Security benefits after working in America for only a year and a half. On the other hand, it takes American workers 10 years to become vested in U.S. Social Security benefits, he said.

Ensign said he also was troubled that it took a Freedom of Information request to disclose contents of the 2004 agreement.

So far, Ensign's bill this year has drawn tepid support. There are nine co-sponsors, all Republican: Sens. Christopher Bond of Missouri, Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Craig Thomas of Wyoming.

Spokesmen for other members of the Nevada congressional delegation said they have received some calls about the totalization agreement, but nothing overwhelming.

Ensign says Congress is abdicating its duty by allowing totalization agreements to pass without voting on them. Currently, either the House or Senate can block a totalization agreement by voting against it, but that rarely occurs.

It is obvious the senator from the great state of Nevada will need help with this!

You can help and I ask you to return tomorrow for part 2 to see how!! Please forward the following link to everyone on your mailing list so we can enlist their help as well!!

http://wags-blog.blogspot.com/