Larson: Trump About to Gut Disabled Americans’ Basic Support

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement on the Trump White House’s new plan to cut disability benefits for nearly 400,000 Americans. 

The Administration’s new rule would cut or eliminate Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for low-income adults who are unable to work, including an estimated 4,300 Connecticut residents. 

“It is not enough for his budget to kick 15 million Americans off their health care. Donald Trump is about to push hundreds of thousands of people off their disability benefits,” said Larson. “For Americans who are unable to work, SSI barely covers their basic needs. To rip that away with the stroke of a pen is flat out cruel. But it is what we have come to expect from this President, who remains laser focused on dismantling the people’s benefits so he can hand them over to his buddies on Wall Street. Tomorrow, House Republicans will hold a hearing on ways to further cut benefits by putting up red tape. Democrats are ready to take them to task. When five million seniors retire into poverty, we should be working to enhance benefits, not looking for ways to cut them. It is beyond shameful for Republicans to cheer on these cuts while they hand yet another tax break to the top one percent. Will our Republican colleagues stand with their constituents struggling to make ends meet, or with a president shouting ‘let them eat cake?’” 

The Trump White House’s plan would rescind a rule that allows SSI recipients in households who receive SNAP nutrition assistance to receive their full benefit. If this goes into effect, 300,000 people would see their monthly check reduced, while another 100,000 would see their benefit eliminated entirely, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. The maximum SSI benefit is about $900/month, only available to Americans with less than $2,000 in their bank accounts.