Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today joined their colleagues in introducing a bipartisan bill that would strengthen critical Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits that support nearly 8 million seniors and people with disabilities, including over 80,000 Oregonians.
The Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act would make much-needed updates to the benefits program — much of which hasn’t been updated since it was first established over five decades ago. The bill also would expand benefits eligibility, increase cash payments, and fix rules that penalize Americans trying to save money for even emergency expenses.
“As America barrels toward a health care crisis because of the Republican Big Ugly Bill, it’s become more important than ever to protect the benefits of people who are walking an economic tightrope,” said Wyden, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. “We must bring our SSI system into the 21st century to alleviate pressure off the backs of seniors, people with disabilities, and families.”
“Too many seniors and Americans with disabilities are forced to live on the edge because SSI hasn’t kept up with the real cost of living,” said Merkley, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. “The bipartisan Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act takes on this crisis by boosting benefits, updating outdated asset limits, and ending penalties that punish people for getting help from loved ones. Folks shouldn’t have to choose between paying for groceries, medicine, or rent just to access the benefits they need.”
SSI was first signed into law in 1972, becoming the first fully federalized disability program to provide low-income disabled Americans with benefits. Today, nearly eight million Americans rely on SSI to meet their basic needs.
While SSI is still a key source of federal income support for older and disabled Americans, the system has not been updated since it was first established more than fifty years ago. Many of the program’s original income and asset limits — which eligible recipients may not exceed — fall below the poverty line, often trapping beneficiaries in poverty and falling far short of the program’s mission.
The SSI Restoration Act would expand and strengthen benefits by:
- Increasing “income disregard” amounts, which have not changed since 1974
- Updating the asset limit to $10,000 / $20,000 for an eligible couple and indexing it to inflation
- Increasing the benefit rate to 100% of the federal poverty level and repealing the marriage penalty
- Repealing penalties for in-kind support, resource transfers, state taxes and tribal benefits
- Streamlining lump-sum and back payments
- Extending the program to the U.S. territories
The SSI Act was led by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representatives Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), and James Moylan (R-GU). In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the bill was cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).
The bill is cosponsored in the House by Representatives Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
The bill is endorsed by AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Alliance for Retired Americans, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association on Health and Disability, American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), American Society on Aging, ASSIST Program, Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), Benefits Law Center, Bread for the City, California Alliance for Retired Americans, California Association of Food Banks. Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Center for Medicare Advocacy, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, Cure SMA, Disability Belongs, Economic Policy Institute, Educate. Advocate., Empire Justice Center, Epilepsy Foundation of America, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, Homeless Action Center, Homeless Advocacy Project, Inner City Law Center, Justice in Aging, Lakeshore Foundation, Latinos for a Secure Retirement, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Legal Council for Health Justice, Maryland Latinos Unidos (MLU), National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), National Alliance to End Homelessness, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, National Association of Disability Representatives, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, National Council of Gray Panthers Networks, National Council on Aging, National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC), National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA), National Organization for Women, National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), National Respite Coalition, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, New York Legal Assistance Group, Paralyzed Veterans of America, People With Disabilities Foundation, Public Justice Center, SAGE Service Employees International Union, Social Security Works, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), Strengthen Social Security Coalition, The Arc of the United States, Triage Cancer, USAging, and Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER).
The full bill text is here.
A web version of this release is here.