NCD advises House Ways and Means Social Security and Work & Welfare joint subcommittee

September 25, 2025

WASHINGTON–The National Council on Disability submitted a statement for the record to the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittees on Social Security and Work & Welfare.

The statement was in regards to the September 9 joint subcommittee hearing, Untapped Talent in America: Removing Barriers to Work and Supporting Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities.

NCD as an independent federal agency responsible for advising Congress, the President and federal agencies on disability policy, recommended for policymakers to remove employment disincentives for recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

“Across SSI beneficiaries, 74 percent of unemployed, non-retiree households have less than $3,000 in financial assets,” wrote NCD Vice Chair and Acting Chair Shawn Kennemer. Disability, unemployment risk, job loss or lack of jobs, and labor force shocks, including changes in demand and value of certain skills, may leave households economically insecure.”

NCD’s 2023 Progress Report, Toward Economic Security: The Impact of Income and Asset Limits on People with Disabilities, examined four critical areas of public policy and their impact on people with disabilities: health care, cash benefits provided through Supplemental Security Income (SSI), employment, and asset building and wealth protection. In the report. NCD recommended:

• Congress re-examine Supplemental Security Income asset and resource rules to allow debts like medical debt and disability-related debts to counterbalance countable resources in determining program eligibility;

• Policymakers should reduce the reporting burden for applicants and beneficiaries, and update overpayment waiver rules so they are less punitive and easier to navigate; and

• Implement the No Wrong Door (NWD) program nationwide to facilitate the integration of social safety net program application and navigation processes.

Read the full statement at NCD.gov.