[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 177 (Wednesday, November 16, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME 
                                PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 16, 2022

  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, as the Chairman of the 
Ways and Means Worker and Family Subcommittee with jurisdiction over 
the Supplemental Security Income Program--or SSI, it is an honor and 
privilege to recognize the 50th Anniversary of this essential program 
that serves as our nation's fundamental safety net for low-income 
seniors and people with disabilities.
  The charge that a humane society should care for its vulnerable is 
long-standing. The Chinese philosopher Confucius said: ``In a country 
well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country 
badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.'' The Jewish 
teaching of tzedakah advocates treating every person with righteousness 
and justice. In the book of Matthew, Jesus said, ``As you did it to one 
of these, the least of my brethren, you did it to me.'' And, Mahatma 
Gandhi indicated that ``the true measure of any society can be found in 
how it treats its most vulnerable members.''
  In the 20th century, our country established and improved programs 
that created the foundation of a system to care for vulnerable 
Americans--such as FDR's New Deal, LBJ's Great Society, and the 
hundreds of laws to strengthen these programs. Fifty years ago, many 
low-income Americans with significant disabilities experienced painful 
hardship because they lacked the monthly income to support themselves. 
No federal program met their needs; rather, each state had separate 
rules for who could receive benefits, for how long, and for how much.
  In 1972, a Democratic Congress and a Republican President recognized 
the challenges faced by low-income people with severe disabilities and 
amended the Social Security Act to replace the inadequate, 
inconsistent, state support system with a permanent, national benefits 
program that offers a minimum, monthly income. As a federal program, 
SSI consolidated several state and federal elderly anti-poverty and 
disability programs into one program to support the most vulnerable.
  Today, SSI provides food, shelter, heat in the winter, and dignity to 
more than 7.6 million American seniors and those with severe 
disabilities. In Cook County, Illinois, which includes my Congressional 
District, over 140,000 people rely on SSI to help buy food, pay rent, 
keep the lights on, and pay out-of-pocket health care costs. 
Importantly, SSI eligibility often increases eligibility for other 
important benefits--such as state public assistance, Medicaid, and 
SNAP--to also assist with critical expenses, like hospital stays, 
doctors' bills, and prescriptions.
  In addition to supporting seniors and adults with disabilities, SSI 
benefits also help many children with disabilities and health 
conditions access the specialized care and treatment they need. 
Further, SSI helps compensate for the loss of income that is common for 
parents managing their children's complex care. Over 33,000 Illinois 
children receive these vital supports each month.
  As we reflect on the strengths of SSI, we also must recognize the 
need for improvement. Given that SSI represents the only income for 
more than half of SSI recipients, we have a responsibility to ensure 
that the program truly protects disabled and elderly Americans from 
poverty and hardship. Further due to our country's history of systemic 
racism, including in employment and health care, people of color 
disproportionately experience poverty and disability compared to their 
peers. Consequently, policymakers need to modernize the SSI program to 
promote stability for the most vulnerable Americans.
  We must improve monthly benefits to protect the elderly and disabled 
from suffering in poverty. We must adjust the asset limits for 
inflation. Currently, the program caps monthly savings at $2,000 and 
$3,000 for participating individuals and couples. If we adjusted asset 
limits for inflation since 1972, the asset cap for individuals would be 
$9,000. Raising assets limits would allow millions of beneficiaries to 
appropriately save for emergencies, rather than having to make immoral 
choices between food or shelter or health. Additionally, we need to 
increase the outdated income limits that remain the same as they were 
50 years ago. In short, we must modernize the SSI program so that it 
effectively supports the poorest Americans, bolstering dignity and 
well-being.
  I am especially proud that, as we mark the 50th anniversary of SSI, 
my colleagues and I at the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and 
Family Support continue working closely with the Social Security 
Administration to improve outreach to those missing seniors and people 
with disabilities as they reopen their field offices, but there is much 
more we need to do to help reconnect those whom the pandemic 
disconnected from SSI, either from applying for initial benefits or 
being separated from current benefits.
  As we celebrate five decades of the SSI program, I would like to 
recognize the amazing local disability advocates who tirelessly provide 
the on-going, vital help for vulnerable individuals in Chicago. These 
organizations serve as points of access for long-term supports and 
services, including home health care and assistive technology. They 
help expand and defend people's rights, including supporting self-
advocacy groups and legal assistance. A few of these wonderful 
organizations are:
  Access Living
  The Arc of Illinois
  Chicago ADAPT
  Chicago Health Advocates
  Equip for Equality
  Health and Disability Advocates
  Ilinois Council on Developmental Disabilities
  Illinois Department of Aging
  Legal Counsel for Health Justice
  Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities
  Voices for Illinois Children
  In closing, I celebrate the first 50 years of the Supplemental 
Security Income program, and I promise to continue to fight for dignity 
for our most vulnerable citizens to make SSI's impact even bigger over 
the next 50 years.

                          ____________________