Commissioner Jo Anne Barnhart testified before the Subcommittee on Human Resources on April 29, 2004.
An excerpt:
“SSI beneficiaries are among the most vulnerable members of our society. All of them are either blind or disabled, or aged 65 and older. All have very limited incomes and little or no assets. The maximum income an individual can have and still be eligible for SSI represents less than 75 percent of the poverty level for a one-person household, and the maximum income a couple can have and remain eligible for SSI represents less than 85 percent of the poverty level for a two-person household. Only 35 percent of SSI beneficiaries receive other cash benefits such as Social Security benefits. It is clear that without SSI, the vast majority of beneficiaries would be destitute. . . .
By any measure, SSI recipients are among the poorest of the poor. For them, SSI is truly the program of last resort and is the safety net that protects them from complete impoverishment. In administering this program we must recognize both the vulnerability of those served by it as well as our obligation to the American taxpayer to ensure that payments made under the program are consistent with the program’s requirements. . . . “
“However, as you know for FY 2004, SSA’s appropriation for administrative expenses was significantly lower than the President’s budget request. I found that I had to balance the need for CDRs [Continuing Disability Reviews] and redeterminations against the need to process claims filed by aged and disabled citizens—arguably the most vulnerable of our population. And we are not going to be able to do as many CDRs and redeterminations as I had originally planned.”
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