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lb_leeSneak: hi guys! Usually we don't post much about politics, but there's a bill in committee right now that could really change our life if it passed! We'd love it if you could contact your senator and ask them to cosponsor it!
S. 2767: SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act is a bill that, if passed, would allow us to have $10,000 in savings, rather than $2000. The 2000 number has been the same since before we were born, and we get financially punished for going over that limit. (There are special savings accounts, called ABLE accounts, but they come with a lot of limitations and rules about what they can be used for, and we haven't been able to get it together enough to create one.)
The savings bar is the biggest barrier to us participating in life... and, ironically, conducting business that would let us rely less on disability. Printing a paperback requires extremely careful planning, and we're restricted to printing only a hundred books at a time, which means each individual book costs you more. We also have to do financial gymnastics every time we move, because usually we must pay three months rent up front (first, last, security deposit) and that often adds up to over $2000, meaning we have to save to the brink, pay part at the end of the month, insist they cash the check ASAP, and then pay the rest the moment our next payment comes in. It's a mess!
This bill isn't getting much support; right now more Republicans are sponsoring it than Democrats! The link above gives you ways to contact your Senator. If you're in Massachusetts, Senator Elizabeth Warren is on the Finance committee, which is reviewing the bill, and she hasn't supported it yet. You can contact her about it here! (Check "disability policy" for what it's about.)
Thank you! ^_^
S. 2767: SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act is a bill that, if passed, would allow us to have $10,000 in savings, rather than $2000. The 2000 number has been the same since before we were born, and we get financially punished for going over that limit. (There are special savings accounts, called ABLE accounts, but they come with a lot of limitations and rules about what they can be used for, and we haven't been able to get it together enough to create one.)
The savings bar is the biggest barrier to us participating in life... and, ironically, conducting business that would let us rely less on disability. Printing a paperback requires extremely careful planning, and we're restricted to printing only a hundred books at a time, which means each individual book costs you more. We also have to do financial gymnastics every time we move, because usually we must pay three months rent up front (first, last, security deposit) and that often adds up to over $2000, meaning we have to save to the brink, pay part at the end of the month, insist they cash the check ASAP, and then pay the rest the moment our next payment comes in. It's a mess!
This bill isn't getting much support; right now more Republicans are sponsoring it than Democrats! The link above gives you ways to contact your Senator. If you're in Massachusetts, Senator Elizabeth Warren is on the Finance committee, which is reviewing the bill, and she hasn't supported it yet. You can contact her about it here! (Check "disability policy" for what it's about.)
Thank you! ^_^
