Lawmakers unveil bill to stop benefits for Nazis

Lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday that would halt Social Security benefits for suspected Nazi war criminals.

The bill would make them ineligible for federal benefits and instruct the attorney general to inform the Social Security Administration when someone loses or renounces their citizenship because of their Nazi participation.

“Our bill will eliminate the loophole that has allowed Nazi war criminals to collect Social Security benefits,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), one of three members who introduced the bill.

{mosads}”I am hopeful that the House will take this bill up in the lame-duck session this November. We should work in a bipartisan and expeditious manner to terminate these benefits once and for all,” she added.

“The American taxpayer should not be subsidizing the retirements of those guilty of the worst atrocities in human history.”

Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) are the measure’s other two sponsors. Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are expected to unveil a companion bill in the Senate.

If the bill passes, the attorney general and Social Security commissioner must eventually submit a report to Congress notifying lawmakers about the total number of Nazi war criminals the government has identified and whose benefits were stopped.

In October, The Associated Press reported that dozens of suspected Nazi war criminals who were forced to leave the United States had collected millions of dollars in Social Security benefits.

The loophole reportedly stemmed from the Justice Department’s decision to encourage these criminals to leave the country faster by making them eligible for benefits.