Van Hollen, Moran Introduce Legislation to Empower Individuals with Disabilities
Legislation would change law to not penalize disability benefits for individuals who marry
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D- Md.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced legislation that would direct the Social Security Administration to change the way it calculates Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to not penalize individuals with disabilities who chose to marry.
The Eliminating the Marriage Penalty in SSI Act would exclude a spouse’s income and resources when determining eligibility for (SSI) and disregard marital status when calculating the SSI benefit amount for an adult who has a diagnosed intellectual or developmental disability.
“Supplemental Security Income is critical to allowing people with disabilities to strengthen their financial security and independence,” said Senator Van Hollen. “This legislation will ensure that these Americans won’t be financially penalized simply for marrying.”
“Our policies should support and empower individuals with disabilities to live a full and independent life, including the option to get married,” said Senator Moran. “This is sensible legislation that would change how disability payments are calculated to make certain the benefits we provide to individuals with disabilities aren’t diminished because they choose to get married.”
This legislation is endorsed by the National Down Syndrome Society, National Down Syndrome Congress, Autism Speaks, Autism society of America, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.