Sounds A Lot Like A Threat

A press release from the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Chairman of its Social Security Subcommittee:

On this date in 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the Social Security Amendments Act establishing monthly Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) issued the following statement recognizing SSDI’s 56th anniversary.

“SSDI benefits provide an important safety net for Americans with disabilities. Today, over 10.8 million disabled workers and their families rely on benefits they earned through the payroll taxes they paid. Yet, beginning in 2016, just four years from now, the Social Security Board of Trustees predicts that the Disability Insurance program will be unable to pay full benefits. Clearly, changes must be made.

“We must secure the future of SSDI. The Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security has held a series of hearings looking for possible solutions that both meet the needs of those with disabilities, and also protect the hard-earned taxpayer dollars supporting the program. Given the extraordinary changes in the workplace, and new thinking in treatment and rehabilitation that have developed over the last 56 years, this Committee will continue to work with all our colleagues so we can find solutions to strengthen the program for Americans with disabilities.”