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"Encouraging Work Through the Social Security Disability Insurance Program."
Testimony by Lisa Ekman, Director of Federal Policy, Health & Disability Advocates, on behalf of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Social Security Task Force James Smith, Budget and Policy Manger, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Vermont Agency of Human Services
U.S. House of Representatives Documents
Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Becerra, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony for this hearing on Encouraging Work Through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program.
I currently serve as the director of federal policy for Health & Disability Advocates (HDA). HDA is a national policy and advocacy group headquartered in Chicago, Illinois that promotes economic and health care security for people with disabilities. For more than 20 years, HDA has been working at the intersection of health and economic security, focusing on employment and health related employment supports. I also am a member of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Social Security Task Force. CCD is a working coalition of national consumer, advocacy, provider, and professional organizations working together with and on behalf of the 54 million children and adults with disabilities and their families living in the United States. The CCD Social Security Task Force focuses on disability policy issues in the Title II disability programs and the Title XVI Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. I present this testimony on behalf of the Co-Chairs of the CCD Social Security Task Force.
The SSDI program provides vital and much-needed economic security and access to health care for individuals whose impairments are so severe that they preclude substantial, gainful work. This income support program is an integral component of our nation's safety net, reflecting the core American value of assisting those in need. We appreciate your interest in and attention to this critical program.
Any effort to improve the work opportunities and outcomes for people receiving SSDI should start with ensuring that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has adequate administrative resources to effectively administer the SSDI program and the SSDI work incentives in an accurate and timely manner. SSA's administrative budget (Limitation on Administrative Expenses or LAE) has been woefully inadequate in recent years. We urge Congress to provide SSA with adequate resources to...