Homegrown bill supporting children with disabilities

I want to talk to you about the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Restoration Act, HR 7138, which I reintroduced with my colleagues Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva and Jan Schakowsky at the end of last month. This bill is hyper-relevant for families with children with special needs, and who are trying to plan for the future needs of these adult children.

This is a bill I first introduced during my first term in 2019 to address shortfalls in the SSI program. SSI provides assistance to disabled or elderly individuals. It’s especially important to the blind and people with disabilities, including more than one million children.

The Social Security Income program has gone largely unchanged since 1972 and is in desperate need of updates to keep beneficiaries out of poverty. For instance, because the program has not kept pace with inflation, individuals with more than $2,000 in their savings account are not eligible for SSI benefit. This bill would increase that cap to $10,000 (or $20,000 for eligible couples).

While this legislation is a common-sense approach to help families support their loved ones with disabilities live independently, it really would not be possible without the families across my district who have shared their own experiences with the SSI program and advocated for these overdue changes.

I especially want to thank Craig and Linda Brown, of Clarkston, who first brought this issue to my attention. They have two sons with autism and are deeply rooted in autism advocacy for young people across the state, and the parents who love them and want to help secure their future. The SSI Restoration Act achieves that, and I’ll be encouraging my colleagues to move the bill forward in Congress.

– Rep. Elissa Slotkin