News Release

NCD #01-336
August 22, 2001
Contact: Mark S. Quigley
202-272-2004
202-272-2074 TTY
mquigley@ncd.gov

National Council on Disability Urges President's Commission to Exercise Caution in Consideration of Social Security Proposals and Consider Needs of Americans with Disabilities

WASHINGTON--The National Council on Disability (NCD) urges the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security to exercise caution in consideration of Social Security proposals and consider the needs of Americans with disabilities.

According to NCD chairperson Marca Bristo, "Social Security programs can be transformed from a lifelong entitlement into an investment in employment potential for thousands of people. In NCD's 1997 report, Removing Barriers to Work: Action Proposals with the 105th Congress and Beyond, NCD focused on the barriers to employment encountered by millions of people and made recommendations that would eliminate or reduce those barriers. Those recommendations are as timely today as they were in 1997 and more importantly, they are fully in line with President Bush's New Freedom Initiative (www.whitehouse.gov/news/freedominitiative/). We must make tough choices to strengthen and protect Social Security over the long run."

Similarly, the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (TWWIIA), which is fully supported in the President's New Freedom Initiative, provides states with new options and flexibility to make it possible for people with disabilities to join the workforce without fear of losing their Medicare and Medicaid coverage.

TWWIIA has a section that covers employment and a section that covers health care. Title I of TWWIIA establishes the Ticket to Work and Self Sufficiency Program. This voluntary program provides improved access to employment training and placement services for people with disabilities who want to work. The program is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and began in January 2001.

"The President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security must consider TWWIIA and the President's New Freedom Initiative as it goes forward. People with disabilities want to take charge of their own lives and become employed," Bristo added.

NCD urges the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security (www.csss.gov/) to exercise due caution in their review and action on any and all proposals they consider. NCD also urges the Administration to work closely with NCD and disability groups to craft strong, forward-thinking disability income policy to bring America into the 21st Century.