Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Chu for her leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that you can measure the greatness of a society by how well it treats its old, how well it treats its young, and how well it treats those who have difficulties caring for themselves, through no fault of their own, yet need help from other elements of society.

If this bill is an indication of how we value our most vulnerable citizens, then we are not in good shape. Instead of going after billionaire tax cheats or ultrawealthy tax evaders, my Republican colleagues are advancing a bill that purports to remove barriers to work for disabled Americans.

In all actuality, H.R. 8884 targets the earned benefits of workers who qualify for the Social Security Disability Insurance, SSDI.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose H.R. 8884 and urge my colleagues to do the same, rather than give the Trump administration unfettered authority to conduct a demonstration program that will ultimately result in a reduction of benefits for older, severely disabled, and low-income workers.

The bill under consideration today fails to remove employment barriers for some of the most financially vulnerable Americans. Past Social Security Administration demonstration programs have shown these reemployment initiatives to be unsuccessful in helping beneficiaries return to work.

Additionally, let us be reminded that the first Trump administration repeatedly proposed massive cuts to Social Security disability benefits. Its plans included stripping away benefits from older, severely disabled workers, making it harder to qualify for benefits and throwing disabled people off benefits by subjecting them to more frequent continuing disability reviews, just to name a few.

Alarmingly, President Trump's budgets proposed using SSA demonstration authority to slash disability benefits by approximately $50 billion over 10 years.

Let me say it again. The first Trump administration wanted disability demonstration authority to slash $50 billion of earned benefits.

Just last year, the Trump administration proposed a rule that would exact deep cuts to SSDI, particularly for older workers. These are workers who cannot support themselves due to severe and longstanding disabilities that impact their ability to work.

Mr. Speaker, with this bill, my Republican colleagues want to grant the Trump administration unchecked power and authority to conduct demonstration programs aimed at reducing SSDI benefits.

Just to further imagine, the Trump-created customer service crisis at SSA due to massive staffing reductions, this bill requires funding for these demonstrations to be supported out of SSA's operating fund.

Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, among others, H.R. 8884 is opposed by the AFL-CIO, Social Security Works, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

The Trump administration has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to harm the elderly, the disabled, and the poor, and so I urge my colleagues to reject this harmful bill in exchange for a more thoughtful approach to improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that we ought to want and should help, not harm and not hurt those individuals who deserve and need disability benefits.

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