[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 89 (Thursday, June 4, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H3881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 URGING SUPPORT FOR SANCHEZ-YOUNG SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INSURANCE 
                         FOR TERMINALLY ILL ACT

  (Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico asked and was given 
permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend 
her remarks.)
  Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, imagine that 
your loved one was diagnosed with terminal leukemia on January 1. They 
will undergo chemotherapy, need daily medical care and attention, and 
be unable to work.
  Without any income, they apply for Social Security disability 
insurance benefits and are quickly approved. However, due to an 
archaic, bureaucratic law, your loved one will have to wait 5 months 
before receiving any benefits. If you were diagnosed with a terminal 
illness on the first week of the new year, you wouldn't receive 
disability benefits until this week, the 21st week of the year.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish this was just a hypothetical example, but this 
happened to an Albuquerque resident and my friend, Jeremy Sanchez, who 
had to wait months before receiving the benefits that he earned, after 
being diagnosed with leukemia.
  That is why I, along with my colleague Congressman Israel, am 
introducing the Sanchez-Young Social Security Disability Insurance for 
the Terminally Ill Act, which would repeal the 5-month waiting period 
for the terminally ill and ensure that SSDI protects the most 
vulnerable recipients when they need it most.
  I urge my colleagues to support this sensible bill.

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