In the 112th and 113th Congresses, the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, led by Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) has held 11 hearings exploring the challenges facing the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program.  The hearings include; the reasons for the program’s growth and financing challenges, efforts to address waste, fraud, and abuse, how disability initial eligibility and appeal decisions are made, achieving fair, accurate, and consistent disability decisions, and encouraging work.  According to the Social Security Trustees, revenues will cover only 80 percent of SSDI benefits beginning in 2016.  More information can be found here.

In addition, Subcommittee Chairman Johnson has introduced H.R. 1502, “The Social Security Disability Insurance and Unemployment Benefits Double Dip Elimination Act of 2013.”  The legislation would keep people from receiving both Social Security disability benefits and unemployment benefits at the same time.  A similar proposal was included in the President’s FY2014 budget. More information regarding this legislation may be found here.

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