According to The Hill, half of the Democratic caucus members in the House are urging Republican lawmakers to not cut any funding from the Social Security Administration. The House Democrats urge their counterparts to reconsider cuts included in an earlier spending measure, saying such budget cuts would hurt the agency and its public service work.
One hundred and twenty five Democrats, including members of the Appropriations and Ways and Means panel, told Republicans such cuts would close the administration’s doors for up to four weeks and could hurt Americans who are depending on their Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. Additionally, closing down the SSA could hurt taxpayers because of the agency’s inability to fight waste, fraud and abuse in the Social Security program.
The Social Security Administrations serves an important role in our country’s public service, paying out benefits and serving the public by processing various benefit claims, Democrats claim in their address to the House. The Republican’s measure cut the agency’s funding $125 million from fiscal 2010 year.
The head of the SSA spoke to a Senate panel earlier this month, testifying how the House cuts would impede his agency’s inability to function and serve disabled Americans. Primarily, the agency needs a government funding to help combat backlogs in paying out disability benefits.