ELCA Advocacy Action Alert: Expand Senior & Disability Benefits

Join faith partners calling Congress to support a bipartisan SSI expansion

As inflation and reduced SNAP benefits in recent years have hit people with low and fixed incomes the hardest, momentum is building in Congress to pass legislation that would help low-income seniors and people living with disabilities. The bipartisan SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act (S. 2767), introduced late last year by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would help expand the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and build financial security for those of us in the greatest need.

The current SSI program provides vital support for millions of elderly and disabled Americans living in poverty. However, the program's strict asset limits, which have not been updated since 1984, penalize savings and moderate asset ownership, keeping many beneficiaries trapped in poverty. The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act would raise these asset limits and annually adjust the program for inflation moving forward, enabling SSI recipients to save for emergencies and build modest financial security without losing access to critical benefits.

As Lutherans, our social teaching emphasizes social and economic justice, the common good, solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, and encouragement for state and federal government partners to “develop short- and long-term strategies to help low-income people with disabilities lift themselves out of poverty” (ELCA social message on “People Living with Disabilities”, p. 16). Many of our Lutheran social service agencies and ministries prioritize serving low income seniors and people with disabilities, but our congregations cannot do this work alone.

Several religious counterparts, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, major businesses and nonprofit employers agree that expanding SSI is a vital need for the financial security of our communities. Efficient, targeted government policies to provide a safety net and create opportunity for those of us in the greatest need are an important way we answer the call to love our neighbors. No one should be trapped in deep poverty or penalized for responsibly saving.

Join ecumenical faith leaders today contacting your members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor and support swift passage of the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act. Send a customized message to Congress through the ELCA Action Center.