WASHINGTON, DC – The Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2014 was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). The bill, championed by the National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC),would fix key elements of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program that currently make life difficult for millions of low-income older adults.
“Millions of vulnerable Americans
who struggle just to get by depend on Supplemental Security Income to help take
care of their families, but inflation has significantly decreased the ability
to qualify for SSI benefits, hurting seniors, the disabled and blind, and more
than one million children,” said Sen. Brown.
“SSI is a critical program that
helps millions of our poorest and most vulnerable citizens keep their heads
above water,” said Senator Warren . “I’m very pleased to join Senator Brown to
introduce the SSI Restoration Act, which will help strengthen SSI for families
who rely on these essential benefits.”
The legislation would update rules such
as one that recognizes the value of past work by disregarding the first $20 of
Social Security Retirement or other monthly income when determining SSI
eligibility, a rule that hasn’t been updated in more than 40 years. The
SSI Restoration Act will increase the disregard to $110 to account for
inflation. The bill also increases the amount of resources an SSI
recipient can retain from $2,000 to $10,000 so that they can respond to
emergencies such as a home repair or the replacement of an old car. The bill
also eliminates the harsh provision that reduces the monthly benefit whenever
someone receives food or housing for less than fair market value from another
person, including family members.
“We hear many stories from consumer
advocates about elderly SSI recipients who cannot pay for food, or needed
medical care because they exceeded the resource limit or received too much
support from a family member and lost part or all of their benefits,” said
NSCLC Executive Director Kevin Prindiville. “Sadly, some poor seniors
face homelessness when they lose even some of the already meager income SSI
provides.”
An identical bill, H.R.
1601, was introduced in the House last April by Rep.
Raul Grijalva (D-AR) and has 13 co-sponsors. The House bill has been
endorsed by 50 national and local organizations, including NSCLC.
“Recipients, their families and all
of us owe Sen. Brown and Sen. Warren many thanks for advancing one of the most
important fixes we can make to this program,” Rep. Grijalva said. “This
shouldn’t be a political football. Everyone agrees it can be improved, and they
agree on how badly it’s needed. The full Senate should take this bill up and
pass it as soon as possible, and the House should do the same.”
SSI provides subsistence-level
income to two million older adults with very limited financial resources who are
either age 65 or over or cannot perform substantial work because of a severe
disability. More than two thirds of older adults receiving SSI payments are
women and one out of every three applying for the program has a primary
language other than English.
“We hope that many others in the
Senate will join Sens. Brown and Warren as co-sponsors to help make these
needed changes into law this year,” Prindiville said.
Source: National Senior Citizens Law Center
