U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz decried a Trump administration proposal that she and her Democratic colleagues warn would result in “one of the largest cuts to Social Security disability benefits in history.”
The Democratic congresswoman's warning comes on the heels of a report in The Washington Post that the administration is putting together a plan that "would make it harder for older Americans to qualify for Social Security disability payments" and cause hundreds of thousands of people to lose benefits. The proposal would eliminate age as a factor entirely or raising the threshold to age 60 to qualify for disability benefits, the newspaper reported.
“This betrayal is a step too far," Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, told reporters on Thursday at a press conference in Broward County. "He’s abdicating one of the most sacred promises that our nation makes and abandoning the most vulnerable among us — all in service to billionaires."
“It’s a backdoor cut to regular Social Security benefits," she said.
Wasserman Schultz said the change, if implemented, would deny benefits to "many people age 50 and older with severe, documented impairments," and affecting cuts in benefits for 400,000 low-income people.
More than 72.5 million people, including retirees and children, receive retirement and disability benefits through the Social Security Administration.
Earlier this week, Wasserman Schultz, along with U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., led 165 House Democrats in demanding Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano halt the proposed plan.
At Thursday's news conference, Wasserman Schultz was joined by a coalition of Florida Social Security advocates — including the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans — and those directly impacted by the potential disability cuts.
