Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has urged the Senate to support two bills designed to reduce the burden on immigrants to the United States who send money to family members in their native lands, according to a statement issued by the senator.

The senator’s remarks came at the unveiling of a report on these foreign remittances entitled ‘All in the Family,’ which was produced by the Washington, D.C.-based Inter-American Dialogue.

“Unlike tourism dollars and export revenues, these remittances go directly to segments of the general population that need the most help,” said Sen. Clinton, who is co-sponsoring two bills designed to ease the burden of fees and transaction costs on immigrants.

“This hard currency income has a dramatic impact on the lives of the people who desperately need it,” she added.

According to the Inter-American Dialogue, of the $25 billion in remittances sent from immigrants in the U.S. to family members in the Latin American and Caribbean region last year, nearly $4 billion was eaten up by fees and other transaction costs.