Riordan Wades Into U.S. Welfare Debate

The mayors of America’s two largest cities joined Wednesday in urging federal officials to reconsider welfare legislation that stands to strip benefits from thousands of legal immigrants in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere.

In letters sent to leading U.S. senators, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and New York’s Rudolph Giuliani asked Congress to adopt a bill that would restore welfare benefits to elderly immigrants who lost them as part of last year’s welfare reform. Under provisions of that law, about 200,000 disabled and 300,000 elderly legal immigrants are scheduled to be dropped from the federal rolls this summer.

The impact is expected to be especially severe in California, particularly Los Angeles, because it is home to so many legal immigrants. Even after some compromises intended to lessen the hardship for many welfare recipients, 26,000 elderly people in Los Angeles could soon lose their benefits, a prospect that Riordan deplored, calling it unfair and unjust.

“Demanding work from able-bodied people is the least we can expect from our residents,” Riordan wrote, speaking for himself and Giuliani. “Leaving elderly people with no means of support is not the hallmark of a society which values equity, fairness and compassion.”

The letters, signed by Riordan but written on behalf of both mayors, reflect Riordan’s growing concern about the consequences of welfare reform and his determination to play a leading role in the national debate over it. The letters pack unusual wallop in that they come not only from the mayors of the nation’s largest cities but also from a pair of fiscally conservative Republicans using their bully pulpits to champion an extension of welfare benefits.

A budget pact announced this week would restore some cuts from last year’s welfare reform act. According to Riordan’s office, more than 130,000 legal immigrants in Los Angeles County depend on certain types of welfare benefits for support and stood to lose those benefits as a result of the welfare reform.

Under the budget compromise, more than 50,000 of those immigrants would qualify for benefits because they are classified as disabled. In addition, Riordan’s office estimates that another 54,000 might be able to qualify for benefits under newly approved guidelines.

Still, “that means that, even in the best-case scenario, about 26,000 elderly people in Los Angeles alone face the future prospect of zero means of support,” the letters said.

“While we welcome the budget news on the whole, I am afraid that the budget package falls short for Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities,” the mayors said. “We are home to large populations of legal immigrants who, for years, have contributed to our city, state and our nation by working and paying taxes.”

Riordan and Guiliani urged Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and William V. Roth Jr. (R-Del.) to support a bill by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John H. Chafee (R-R.I.). Their bill would restore welfare benefits to legal elderly immigrants who remain uncovered by the welfare reform and the budget compromise.

Without such funding, Riordan and Giuliani warned, thousands of elderly people would lose benefits through no fault of their own, a move that would have ripple effects through the economies of large cities nationwide.

Speaking for himself and Giuliani, Riordan wrote: “We both recognize that elimination of this funding would negatively affect our cities’ fiscal health and our residents’ well-being. While we speak for the two largest cities in America, this issue is also of vital importance to the other cities in our country.”

Feinstein said through a spokesman that she is “delighted that Mayor Riordan has weighed in on this and has given his support for the Chafee-Feinstein bill. This cutoff would have a dramatic impact in L.A. County.”

For Riordan, the letter signals a new assertiveness on the welfare issue. Giuliani already has struck a tough line with the federal government, going to battle over last year’s cuts in a public fight with federal authorities. Until now, Riordan has stayed relatively quiet, as is his style.

But Riordan, who was criticized during his recent reelection campaign for not taking a more assertive role in the debate, has told associates that he believes that he can and should do more to lobby on behalf of immigrants and the city’s welfare recipients.

Bill Carrick, a Democratic political consultant who has worked with both Feinstein and Riordan, said he believes that Riordan’s outspokenness on the issue could influence the course of the debate, especially coupled with Giuliani’s actions. “This ought to be pretty powerful to the Republican leadership,” Carrick said.

In Washington on Wednesday, the Senate agreed to extend by two months the disputed welfare payments.

By an 89-11 vote, the lawmakers proposed spending $240 million on Supplemental Security Income payments, or SSI, for legal immigrants until Oct. 1. Before that extension could take effect, it would require an additional Senate vote and approval by the House. Nevertheless, advocates hailed Wednesday’s action.

“This is quite significant,” said David Super, general counsel at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington public policy watchdog organization. “Without this relief, many people would face hardship because they depend on SSI for their support.”

The amendment offered by Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.) and co-sponsored by Feinstein would serve as a form of bridge payment to ease the financial strain of legal immigrants.

“We are a country of compassion,” D’Amato said during floor debate before the vote. “It will give us additional time to deal with what otherwise would be a catastrophe for many of these people.”

As the senators voted, immigrant rights groups and their supporters gathered across from the White House to protest the welfare reform law and demand that Congress restore full benefits to legal immigrants. Similar demonstrations were planned for Chicago, New York, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Houston, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Times staff writer Sam Fulwood contributed to this story.