Lawmakers introduce bill to update the SSI program
By Sula Kim / September 12, 2023
NEW ORLEANS —Senator Bill Cassidy introduced a bill to update the Supplemental Security Income program (SSI).
The move was partly inspired by a story WDSU did on Andrew Schlesinger, a Thibodaux man with spina bifida. He is on SSI, which qualifies him for Medicaid to help pay for his medical bills but the program also limits his total assets to $2,000.
So Senator Bill Cassidy along with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced the Savings Penalty Elimination Act. It would update the SSI asset limit for the first time since the 1980's when the program was first established.
The bill, if passed, would raise the asset limitation to $10,000 for an individual and $20,000 for a married couple and then index it to inflation after that.
Senator Cassidy said the SSI program currently punishes older disabled Americans for saving for emergencies. This bipartisan legislation will incentivize work and help Americans like Andrew Schlesinger save for the future. Andrew has multiple college degrees and wants to work more, but says SSI prevents him from working because if he has more money, he will lose his benefits.
"At age 40 I am living in an apartment, I don't have my own car and I don't have my own house," said Schlesinger.
"If you meet Andrew he's a wonderful guy but you'll see he has spina bifida he's disabled, he benefits from this program but he's punished by these rules and he's a man who responsibly wishes to work more. If he works more he pays taxes and contributes to society. This is great work incentive with the shortage of work power we have right now this could benefit us all. We need to get it done for someone like Andrew and all the other Andrews out there. It's an easy fix. It encourages work, allows savings and gets people out of poverty," said Cassidy.
A diverse range of more than 200 organizations, including AARP, National Association of Evangelicals, Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase and the Bipartisan Policy Center, and more are joining the effort.