On Tuesday the Trump Administration will release its proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, which begins on October 1, 2017. Some details are starting to leak out but in considering them be aware that Congress completely ignored the Trump budget proposals for FY 2017.
From the Washington Post:
President Trump’s first major budget proposal on Tuesday will include massive cuts to Medicaid and call for changes to anti-poverty programs that would give states new power to limit a range of benefits, people familiar with the planning said, despite growing unease in Congress about cutting the safety net.
For Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health care to low-income Americans, Trump’s budget plan would follow through on a bill passed by House Republicans to cut more than $800 billion over 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that this could cut off Medicaid benefits for about 10 million people over the next decade. ...
Leaked budget documents, obtained by the think tank Third Way, suggested other ways the White House plans to change anti-poverty funding. These documents show a change in the funding for Social Security’s Supplemental Security Income program, which provide cash benefits for the poor and disabled. It’s unclear, though, what those changes might look like. A White House official said the Third Way document was out-of-date and would not comment on specifics in their files. ...
Trump has instructed his budget director, former South Carolina congressman Mick Mulvaney, that he does not want cuts to Medicare and Social Security’s retirement program in this budget, Mulvaney recently said, but the plan may call for changes to Social Security Disability Insurance, seeking ideas for ways to move people who are able out of this program and back into the workforce. ...
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In total, the president’s first full budget will propose $1.7 trillion worth of entitlement cuts over the next decade, “a source with direct knowledge” tells Axios’s Jonathan Swan. In addition to Medicaid, the president plans to put the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) on the chopping block. SSDI, obviously, is part of Social Security. Check out https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/05/22/daily-202-trump-hypocrisy-continues-at-home-and-abroad/59222105e9b69b2fb981db65/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_daily202-1210p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
Trump is screwing the very people who voted him in office, and doing the direct opposite of what he specifically promised he would do during his campaign, i.e., NOT touch Social Security, which includes SSDI, Medicare, or Medicaid. As 6:07 noted, the WP article, "Trump hypocrisy continues at home," is an excellent article and spot-on! This Is such a tragedy on so many different levels. The only hope is much of this will be DOA on arrival in Congress, as I suspect many Republicans are smart enough to see the writing on the wall if they vote for such draconian cuts
Recall, again, that any cuts to SSDI can't be made through reconciliation. Therefore, SSDI cuts will need 60 votes to get through the Senate, which is very unlikely. SSI cuts, however, can be made through reconciliation and will only need 50 votes. According to NOSSCR's Washington webinar last week, they speculate that the child's SSI program may be on the table as well as adding welfare requirements to the adult SSI program (time limits, drug testing and work requirements). Considering that Congress won't pass their budget until 1/18, there will be time for the public to voice its concerns.
Seems like nowadays my SSI people are the ones with very severe mental illness, usually with schizophrenic symptoms. How in the hell is someone hearing voices or suffering from paranoid delusions going to do anything productive in the workplace? Are we going to place people with suicidal or homicidal ideations in the workplace? Really? This is extremist right wing nuttery at it's very best.
Does anyone have specific information as to exactly how SSDI is to be cut?
Recently I had two clients go back to work during the 3 year wait for their Social Security hearings. One, the employer loves him and are willing to let him work when he can -- since he went back last summer he has taken 2 4 week long unpaid leaves. But he is making over a 1000 a week so he will keep doing so. My other client found work with a family member's company. She works 5-6 hours a day depending on how she is feeling and misses at least 3 days a month. Both work in pain, but happy to be working as they make more than on disability and were severely depressed staying at home. Both claimants received closed periods.
They will probably both be back on disability in the next 5 years.
But neither would have been able to work except for the employers had a personal interest in them and keeping them employed. Unless Trump has some magic power that will cause employers to provide "sheltered work" to the disabled, they will remain unemployable.
I am a graduate of Yale College ('81) and the Wharton School (MBA '88), and am on SSDI due to severe mental illness ((Bipolar Disorder I). Most people I run into can't understand why I'm on DI, since when on the relatively rare occasions that I appear in public, I seem perfectly normal. Call that a gift, call it a curse. Whatever. However, I cannot even do volunteer work because (for some strange reason) even volunteer organizations expect their volunteers to show up punctually and on scheduled days. So Mr. Trump and Mr. Mulvaney would like to throw me out under a bridge to die? Whatever. As doubtless they would prefer, a Glock 19 to the right temple would be quicker, as it served for my younger brother.
My apologies. I'd meant to say Glock 9.2 mm, not Glock 19.
MT
It appears Mulvaney is a driving force behind a lot of these proposals. Does he have some sort of hateful grudge against people with disabilities? I'm trying to imagine what other reason would cause him to push so forcefully to slash vital supports that they depend on like Medicaid and disability benefits.
Anonymous 9:45, the answer is simply lack of a social conscience.
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