NCD Urges Caution on Social Security Proposals for People with Disabilities

National Council on Disability Urging Caution on Social Security Reform

National Council on Disability Urges President's Commission to Consider Social Security Proposals for People with Disabilities

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The National Council on Disability (NCD) urges the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security to exercise caution in consideration of Social Security proposals and consider the needs of Americans with disabilities.

According to NCD Chairperson Marca Bristo, "Social Security programs can be transformed from a lifelong entitlement into an investment in employment potential for thousands of people. In NCD's 1997 report, Removing Barriers to Work: Action Proposals with the 105th Congress and Beyond, NCD focused on the barriers to employment encountered by millions of people and made recommendations that would eliminate or reduce those barriers.

Those recommendations are as timely today as they were in 1997 and more importantly, they are fully in line with President Bush's New Freedom Initiative. We must make tough choices to strengthen and protect Social Security over the long run."

Similarly, the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (TWWIIA), which is fully supported in the President's New Freedom Initiative, provides states with new options and flexibility to make it possible for people with disabilities to join the workforce without fear of losing their Medicare and Medicaid coverage.

TWWIIA has a section that covers employment and a section that covers health care. Title I of TWWIIA establishes the Ticket to Work and Self Sufficiency Program. This voluntary program provides improved access to employment training and placement services for people with disabilities who want to work. The program is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and began in January 2001.

"The President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security must consider TWWIIA and the President's New Freedom Initiative as it goes forward. People with disabilities want to take charge of their own lives and become employed," Bristo added.

NCD urges the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security to exercise due caution in their review and action on any and all proposals they consider. NCD also urges the Administration to work closely with NCD and disability groups to craft strong, forward-thinking disability income policy to bring America into the 21st Century.
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Note: As an independent federal agency making recommendations to the President and Congress on disability policy, NCD first proposed and then drafted the original Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Currently,
NCD is coordinating a multi-year study on the implementation and enforcement of ADA and other civil rights laws.

Source: National Council on Disability (www.ncd.org)

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