The SSI Restoration Act of 2021 is currently proposed to congress. We have until 2023 to get it passed (this post is dated March 30, 2022). SSI is a type of disability payment for disabled Americans. The bill will increase the SSI payment to the poverty level. Right now the maximum payment is 9528$ a year. It will allow disabled people on SSI to marry and not lose their income which they cannot do currently. Disabled Americans do not have marriage equality currently. It will increase the asset and income caps for SSI among other improvements.
Friends and I made a website that has all of this info plus a really easy way to send an email to your state reps. If you click the link below, you can send a letter of support for the SSI Restoration Act to your state reps. It’s already written and takes only a few minutes. Seriously it is ridiculously easy. These emails have more pull to reps than resistbot so please fill out if you can!
With our letter campaign, people have sent over 5,000 letters to representatives! We’ve decided to make a new campaign with updated information to send to reps. So if you have already sent one through fixssi.com, you can send another! And if you haven’t please take the time to do so!
We also have a Facebook called “Campaign to Fix SSI” that you can follow for regular updates as well.
And if you are able to call state reps (which has the most influence) our website has a call script and lists of your reps phone numbers. Please follow the link below for that.
The SSI Restoration Act of 2021 is currently proposed to congress. We have until 2023 to get it passed (this post is dated March 30, 2022). SSI is a type of disability payment for disabled Americans. The bill will increase the SSI payment to the poverty level. Right now the maximum payment is 9528$ a year. It will allow disabled people on SSI to marry and not lose their income which they cannot do currently. Disabled Americans do not have marriage equality currently. It will increase the asset and income caps for SSI among other improvements.
Friends and I made a website that has all of this info plus a really easy way to send an email to your state reps. If you click the link below, you can send a letter of support for the SSI Restoration Act to your state reps. It’s already written and takes only a few minutes. Seriously it is ridiculously easy. These emails have more pull to reps than resistbot so please fill out if you can!
With our letter campaign, people have sent over 5,000 letters to representatives! We’ve decided to make a new campaign with updated information to send to reps. So if you have already sent one through fixssi.com, you can send another! And if you haven’t please take the time to do so!
We also have a Facebook called “Campaign to Fix SSI” that you can follow for regular updates as well.
And if you are able to call state reps (which has the most influence) our website has a call script and lists of your reps phone numbers. Please follow the link below for that.
If you are American, PLEASE SUPPORT THE SSI RESTORATION ACT OF 2021
This new bill has been introduced in both the house and the Senate.
Among other things, it will:
Raise the monthly disability income by just over 30 percent - bringing it to poverty level.
Remove penalties for recieving financial help from friends and family.
Increase the amount of assets a disabled person may have from $2,000 to $10,000 (this hasn’t been updated since 1989)
Update outside income restrictions to allow disabled people to receive up to $399 a month without reducing their benefits.
REWARD, not penalize, people who want to receive additional income while on social security income.
REMOVE THE MARRIAGE BAN YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT THIS WILL REMOVE THE MARRIAGE BAN
For those unaware current regulations do a lot to oppress disabled people. In fact marriage equality doesn’t even extend to disbled people who risk having their benefits reduced or outright taken away if they marry someone. This means that in common law states disabled people can’t even live with their significant other or they risk losing their financial independence.
Current regulations mean that if you’re disbled you can’t have so much as one penny over $2,000 to your name. So buying a car and gaining more independence or freedom is largely out of the question for disabled people.
Current regulations penalize social security recipients who receive income from outside sources, even if those sources are reimbursement. Did you get paid to babysit for a few hours? That’s income, and you get your benefits reduced. Did you loan a friend $10 and they pay you back? The government considers that $10 income, and you get your benefits reduced.
These aren’t mere anecdotes - these are all examples of actual things that have happened to disbled people I know, and if you have any disabled friends in your life I’m sure they can tell you the same stories.
If you value marriage equality, if you value financial independence, if you value the rights of disbled people, please PLEASE support this bill! Contact your reps, vote, and make noise! This is a great thing!
UPDATE: Text SIGN PSLOAE to 50409
Resistbot is hosting a petition for this! They will automatically send letters to your representatives for you!
The Resist Bot process is super easy and fast! Please do this!
i have never made a post like this before but i haven’t seen anyone here talk about it yet so i want to at least provide some links because this is extremely important for disabled people with or without benefits in the USA.
she doesn’t name the bill in the video but in the comments it’s clarified that the act referred to is the SSI Restoration Act of 2021.
“The Supplementary Security Income (SSI) Restoration Act of 2021 has been introduced in both the House and the Senate. The bill would improve the lives of millions of SSI beneficiaries around the country, including over 2 million older adults who are living below the federal poverty level due to inadequate benefit levels, and often lose or are denied benefits due to outdated eligibility rules.” (link) - summary from Justice In Aging, an organization dedicated to fighting senior poverty
“This bill restores a program that plays a key role in the security of millions of Americans. Specifically, it modernizes and improves SSI by streamlining and simplifying the claiming process, expanding the resources and income limits, and eliminating punitive reductions in benefits.” (link) - summary from the SSI Restoration Act Section by Section, linked on Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva’s website, in the social security tab
below is taken from the issue brief on justiceinaging.org regarding what the bill entails
• The SSI benefit rate will be increased to at least 100% of the Federal Poverty Level, adjusted annually, so that no one receiving SSI will be left to live below the poverty line.
• Couples will receive their full SSI benefit, totaling twice the individual rate, rather than a reduced marriage penalty rate.
• Low-income seniors and people with disabilities who can’t work enough to meet all their basic needs will be able to save up to $10,000 and couples will be able to save up to $20,000 for emergencies such as car repairs, new roofs, and other unexpected expenses, without losing benefits.
• Individuals will be able to receive up to $128 monthly from other sources, such as Social Security benefits or pension payments, without a corresponding loss in benefits.
• Individuals who are able to work will be able to earn up to $416 a month without being penalized.
• Individuals who live in households with others, including family members, will no longer be penalized with lower benefits through the in-kind support and maintenance provision.
• Individuals who transfer assets (even small amounts of money to a family member) will no longer suffer harsh penalties.
• Eliminate installment payment requirements and extend the time to spend down resources so that SSI recipients who have been waiting for months or years to obtain their benefits can receive the full overdue amount.
• Exclude retirement accounts from countable resources to allow people with disabilities to build up their savings for retirement and use those resources to pay for expenses in later life.
• State and local earned income tax credits and child tax credits will be excluded from income calculations in the same manner as general tax payments.”
The SSI Restoration Act of 2021 is currently proposed to congress. SSI is a type of disability payment for disabled Americans. The bill will increase the SSI payment to the poverty level (right now the maximum payment is 9528$ a year). It will allow disabled people on SSI to marry and not lose their income. It will increase the asset and income caps for SSI among other improvements.
Friends and I made a website that has all of this info plus a REALLY easy way to send an email to your state reps. If you click the link below and click send email, you can send a letter of support for the SSI Restoration Act to your state reps. It’s already written and takes only a few minutes. Seriously it is ridiculously easy. These emails have more pull to reps than resistbot so please fill out if you can!
Please do this and boost! It could change the lives of millions of disabled Americans.
This got a big boost in reblogs/likes the last day or two. We are up to over 500 letters sent! Please keep boosting and if you are in the US and able to, actually do the letter campaign. We got 3 new cosponsors on the bill this week alone and will only get more if you contact your representatives.
We are up to 900 signatures! The post is losing a bit of traction that it’s had the last week (which has been amazing) so please keep boosting and send those letters! (and call your members of congress if you are able to. That holds the greatest weight but I understand it’s challenging for many)
@heyatleastitsnotcancer is this still active for 2022? The link and website say 2021 so I wanna make sure this is still an ongoing thing? Also, are there any updates?
Yes it’s still active. I literally have a new letter campaign to share today (once I have time to write it). It’s active till 2023
Hey if you’re reblogging this post please see the pinned post on my blog! Or the link below. There is an update and a new letter campaign! It’s better to send letters either with both campaigns or the new one if possible. We have until 2023 to get this passed! (this comment is 3/20/22)
