US ACTION ALERT – Help stop attack on in-home SSI benefits for disabled and elderly
The Trump Administration is targeting SSI (Supplemental Security Income) for 7.35 million disabled and elderly people living with their families according to Eli Hager at ProPublica.
Basically, benefits will be discounted by considering the “rent” that they are not paying at home as coming from a benefactor and thus increase their income and reduce their benefits (In-Kind Support and Maintenance – ISM).
… and it is going to be even more burdensome for those who also use SNAP food benefits.
You can help today!
Background (headache inducing)
Truly the devil is in the details. Here is what you need to parse
… decode the definition of a Public Assistance Household
… and the proposed new rule Rescission of Changes to the Definition of a Public Assistance Household
Disability Police Madness – One Third of SSA administrative spending is on SSI Oversight!
Total “Administrative Outlays” for SII are 31% of all administrative costs in the Social Security Administration(!) …while SSI spending is just 4% of SSA spending on benefits – see page 85 and 91 of Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for Fiscal Year 2026.
The administrative burden is huge for elderly and disabled people on SSI.
Some of the proposed changes will now require monthly income reporting to SSA to get the reduced benefits.
… for people with substantial disabilities that they are almost certainly going to have for the rest of their lives.
Increased Costs and Separation from Families
The net effect of this may be to push people with substantial disabilities and our elderly most in need out of their family homes with their loved ones into institutions.. according to ProPublica “saving” $11 a day in reduced SSI spending turning into hundreds of extra dollars a day in housing costs at a residential facility.
What you can do – Your Voice Matters
Your voice matters… but, it is not enough to stop this effort to increase the administrative burdens for SSI eligibility, we should move towards treating SSI as an insurance program, just like Social Security, not a benefits program. It is expensive being disabled in the US… and this program should help compensate for those costs.
Disabled people who are eligible for SSI are some of our citizens with the greatest support needs. We should make this program simpler, not more burdensome.
Talking Points
-1. SSI needs to be easier to get in and stay in – One-time or at most re-certification every five years.
-2. SSI should be treated as Black Swan Insurance – Eligibility and payment by diagnosis, not income. Treat this program as “black swan” insurance against the significant costs for disability services.
-3. SSI needs appropriate oversight – The Social Security Administration is paying 31% of its total administrative overhead for SSI for a program that is only 4% of its expenditures. That is 6.65% of the SSI program costs, compared to between 0.43% for Old-Age and Survivors benefits (the most similar model as SSI eligibility is almost certainly for life) and 2.17% for standard Disability Insurance.
(NOTE – all numbers are based on the 2026 Justification of Estimates).
Call or write your Congress member and Senator
Search for your member of Congress by Zip Code.
Contact the House and Senate SSA Oversight Committee
The House Ways and Means Committee (through the Subcommittee on Social Security) and the Senate Finance Committee (though the Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy) oversee the Social Security Administration.
All members can be found online.
Contact the Bipartisan Disability Caucus
“The Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus serves as a space to inform, educate, and raise awareness in Congress on the many issues that affect people with disabilities. For more than 20 years, the caucus has helped members on both sides of the aisle find common ground in pursuit of moving the needle on disability issues.”
List of Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus members.
… contact them all (or as many as you can manage).
(There is no US Senate equivalent.)
Contact Disability Political Advocacy Organizations (there are fewer than you think)
The organizations with the most effective voices for policy advocacy are organized as 501c4s and Political Action Committees (PACs). The most familiar 501c4s are the National Rifle Association and AARP.
There are not a lot in the world of disability :(.
In fact, New Disabled South Rising is the only one that I know of that is operating as at the national level. (Others? Let me know!)
There are a number of grassroots and 501c3 organizations, but they can’t formally “lobby” (donate funds, directly advocate instead of “educate”)…. it is like taking a knife to a gun fight.
501c4s are not-for-profits, but your contribution to them is not tax deductible. The trade-off is that they are able to be much more effective policy advocates as they are full participants in the US political process.
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