Greg Stanton Celebrates Social Security Cancels Disability Benefit Changes

Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ) is declaring success after the Social Security Administration dropped plans to change who qualifies for disability benefits, a move he says would have hurt thousands of seniors.

"Good news: This week, the Trump Administration backed off plans to kick thousands of seniors off their disability benefits," Stanton wrote.

The Social Security Administration had been developing a policy that would have changed how the agency decides who gets disability assistance. The agency canceled these plans following widespread criticism that reached senior Trump Administration officials.

Proposed Changes

The proposed changes would have reduced or eliminated the role that age plays in determining eligibility. Right now, the Social Security Administration considers several factors when deciding who qualifies for disability benefits: age, prior work history, and education level. These factors help officials determine whether a person could realistically switch to a different kind of work. 

The planned policy had been moving toward an official announcement in the Federal Register, scheduled for December, before it was stopped.

The agency also ended a separate $350 million project to update its employment database with current job information. The existing database still includes outdated positions that no longer exist in today's workforce.

Reports by The Washington Post noted that cutting disability benefits could have caused problems for the administration, as millions of Americans depend on these benefits to live.

The agency decided to stop both plans after people complained about the changes. Social Security officials said they will keep using the current system to determine who qualifies for disability benefits.

"I will always fight to protect Arizonans' hard-earned Social Security," Stanton concluded.