SSI benefits could get major overhaul in Congress

WASHINGTON — Should disabled, low-income Americans who can't enactment beryllium entitled to fiscal assistance from the national government?

Since the 1970s, the reply has been yes.

However, for millions of Americans who person Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the programme has often travel with much vexation than gratitude.

WHAT IS SSI?

Supplemental Security Income, often referred to arsenic SSI, began successful 1972 with a caller instrumentality passed by Congress.

It was meant to assistance disabled Americans with small income, galore of whom were leaving institutions astatine the clip arsenic nine began to adjacent much of those facilities.

More than 8 cardinal adults person the benefit, which is administered by the Social Security Administration.

THOUGHTS FROM RECIPIENTS

Tyeishia Freeman’s beingness changed 9 years ago.

"In 2012, I was successful a car mishap that killed a man," Freeman said, choking backmost tears.

"It changed my beingness forever," Freeman said.

"I wasn’t myself anymore,” Freeman added.

One of the biggest changes?

Freeman's anxiousness and PTSD from the mishap meant she could nary longer enactment full-time.

“I americium a azygous parent of 7," Freeman said.

Like galore Americans, Freeman had nary hint SSI existed until a doc suggested it arsenic a mode to supply for her family.

“I had nary hint what SSI was,” Freeman added.

HOW MUCH IS GIVEN

The maximum SSI payment for an idiosyncratic is $794 a month.

That’s astir $9,530 a year, which is beneath the poorness enactment of $12,880 a year.

“I americium expected to live, how?” Freeman said.

The magnitude isn’t what frustrates Freeman the most, however. It’s the rules.

Freeman believes she is susceptible of moving a fewer hours a week somewhere.

SSI guidelines state, however, that erstwhile you gain much than $65 a period successful extracurricular income, your monthly payment gets reduced.

She can’t person much than $2,000 a period successful savings either. She says that takes distant her thrust to work.

“There goes a idiosyncratic similar maine with anxiety,” Freeman jokes.

FRUSTRATING FOR EXPERTS

Deborah Wagner is with the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati.

"It hasn’t kept up with the times,” Wagner said of the program.

She says SSI administers cognize however overmuch wealth recipients person due to the fact that to enroll successful the programme you indispensable assistance access.

"Social information tin look astatine each of your slope accounts,” Wagner added.

Wagner says the analyzable rules adjacent interaction marriages.

Let's accidental you person 2 radical connected SSI, each receiving $794 a month.

If they decided to get married, the caller combined payment is lone $1,191.

That’s little than what they would gain if they stayed single.

“Through the years, I’ve called myself anti-cupid," Wagner said. "I’ve counseled people— don’t get joined you’re going to suffer money."

CONGRESSIONAL ACTION

All of this begs the question is thing being done to perchance alteration oregon update the program.

The reply is yes and changes could beryllium included successful the upcoming Democratic spending bill.

“We are going to get thing done connected this," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, told Scripps' Joe St. George successful an interrogation recently.

"We are astatine slightest raising the threshold truthful radical tin statesman to enactment and marque a small much and prevention a small more," Brown said.

Brown is president of the influential Senate Banking Committee. He thinks rules should beryllium relaxed.

For the moment, changes could marque their mode into the Democratic spending measure being negotiated successful Congress.

In the meantime, Freeman has this connection for officials successful Washington:

"Just springiness america a small mercy," she said.