WASHINGTON, DC – During the public comment period regarding new rule changes to Social Security, Representative Mary Gay Scanlon led a comment, signed by every democratic member of the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation, in opposition to arbitrarily increasing eligibility reviews for Social Security beneficiaries with disabilities.
This letter, which was addressed to Andrew Saul, Social Security Administration Commissioner, was signed by Representatives Madeleine Dean, Susan Wild, Dwight Evans, Chrissy Houlahan, Brendan Boyle, Mike Doyle, Matt Cartwright, and Connor Lamb.
Under this new rule, hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians subject to continuing disability reviews will be at risk of losing their benefits. This new rule will:
· Place undue burdens on disability beneficiaries
· Increase hearing backlogs
· Arbitrarily and capriciously target children and older workers
· Cost more money
“Over 3 million people in Pennsylvania receive either Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) annually,” the Democratic Delegation wrote. “As it stands now, the rule proposed by SSA will undoubtedly cause a disastrous impact to not only our Pennsylvania constituents, but people across the nation who rely on disability benefits. This new measure will put more than two million people at risk of losing benefits over the next 10 years with little to no evidence of any substantial benefits to the government.”
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan instituted a similar measure and roughly 200,000 people lost their benefits. Many people suffered, and some even died, before President Reagan was forced to reverse the rule.
A complete copy of this letter can be found here.
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