Protect the Social Security Program – Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Contact your US Reps and ask them to Oppose H.R. 2792 which takes away SSI payments for people with disabilities any outstanding warrant or an alleged probation or parole violation. These warrants are often old, involve minor infractions, or are part of inactive cases that law enforcement does not want to pursue.

Think about it. The only way a person with a disability can get SSI is if they are too disabled to work. That means they have an incredibly significant impairment. The type of impairment, like a Traumatic Brain Injury or a Bipolar diagnosis or Down Syndrome, that might cause them to forget to pay parking tickets or any other minor infraction that would take away their social security.

Also, SSI pays around $735 PER MONTH. People with disabilities on SSI must choose between eating and paying parking tickets. Then, they can lose their SSI for the tickets. It is nonsense!

A very high percentage of those who would lose their benefits under this bill have a mental illness or intellectual disability, making it especially difficult, if not impossible, for them to go through the laborious process of resolving and removing an old outstanding warrant from their record.

This bill is cutting vital income for people with disabilities. This bill would deprive thousands of people of benefits they depend on to meet their basic needs.

The House Rules Committee has set a vote on H.R. 2792 next Monday, September 25 at 5:00 PM. House floor consideration of the bill is expected on Tuesday, September 26 or Wednesday, September 27.

NAMI Kansas is a state-wide organization of the National Alliance on Mental Illness – a self-help, membership association of individuals living with mental illness, their family members and friends, dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by mental illnesses. We provide leadership and work in partnership with local affiliates to ensure peer support, advocacy, and education.