Republicans Have Big Plans To Cut SSI

    Punchbowl News has obtained a list of options prepared by Republicans for a major budget reconciliation bill this year. There's nothing in it for Title II of the Social Security Act but plenty for Title XVI -- SSI. Here they are:

• ... Under current law, SSA is not required to verify financial accounts of SSI applicants and recipients who allege ownership of resources valued at less than $400. A recent SSA-OIG report concluded that this practice led to incorrect resource determinations, resulting in 198,960 recipients receiving $718 million in SSI payments for which they were not eligible. This policy option would lower the $400 resource-level tolerance to $0 and require SSA to validate the financial accounts of all SSI applicants and recipients, strengthening program integrity and reducing improper payments. ...
• Children under 18 may qualify for SSI if they are disabled and their household has limited income and resources. This policy option would condition SSI benefits for qualified children under the age of 18 on school attendance. ...
• SSI, unlike other welfare programs, does not pay benefits on a sliding scale. Recognizing household economies of scale, this reform (based on a CBO budget option) converts SSI payments to a sliding scale. The sliding scale formula would be (as per the CBO budget option and proposed by the 1995 National Commission on Childhood Disability): SSI federal payment rate multiplied by the number of child recipients in the family and raised to the power of 0. ...
• Deny SSI to Those with Felony Arrest Warrants -- In addition to being an important program integrity measure, this policy option would help restore the original intent of PRWORA to discontinue SSI benefits for individuals who are ‘‘the subject of an arrest warrant’’ compared to the previous language of ‘‘fleeing to avoid’’ arrest. It would also have the added benefit of helping law enforcement find criminals who have been evading the law. ...