Last year we distributed the bill that would restore the earnings limit
for blind Social Security recipients to that of seniors. Now comes the
time to fire up those fax modems, like I did tonight, and take action.
The Senate will take up legislation next week on this topic. Below is my
letter to my senators here in Illinois, followed by the recent action
alert. The two are separated by a lime of asterisks.
kelly
3257 N. Clifton Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657-3318
(773) 472-7206
Internet: [log in to unmask]
Friday, 25 September 1998
The Honorable Carol Moseley-Braun
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Moseley-Braun
I am a 33-year-old blind man concerned about legislation now
moving toward passage in the House to raise the Social Security
earnings limit for age sixty-five retirees. A proposal to do
this has been included in H.R. 4579, the "Taxpayer Relief Act of
1998," which will come to the Senate after passing the House in a
few days.
In addition to the earnings-limit adjustments, this bill includes
several tax changes which many members would like to have enacted
before the present session of Congress ends. Also, it is likely
that other measures of a "must-pass" nature to extend expiring
authorities will be folded into a bill with the tax provisions
and earnings-limit changes.
With this in mind, I request your support for an amendment to
raise the Social Security earnings limit for blind people to the
adjusted exempt amounts now being proposed for seniors. This is
consistent with your announced position as a cosponsor of S. 375,
"The Blind Persons Earnings Equity Act."
At this point a "conforming amendment" in H.R. 4579 proposes that
the earnings of blind Social Security beneficiaries would still
be capped at $12,600 plus incremental annual adjustments.
However, the earnings limit for seniors would be raised from
$15,500 now scheduled for 1999 to $17,000. The exempt amounts in
subsequent years would also be adjusted in mandated steps through
the year 2008 when the seniors' limit would reach $39,750 as
compared to the current-law limit of $30,000 in 2002.
As you know, the basic exempt amount for blind
people was linked by law to the exempt amount for seniors from
1978 until March, 1996. Since that time, you and others have
said that an injustice was done to the blind when the linked
exemption policy was broken. That injustice would be corrected
in part at least if the conforming amendment cited above is
stricken in earnings limit changes approved by the Senate.
I ask you to work vigorously to achieve equity for
blind persons in any earnings-limit adjustments proposed as part
of the tax relief measure or other relevant legislation. As an
advocate for my interests as a blind person in co-sponsoring the
Blind Person's Equity Act, please contact Senator Lott and
Senator Daschle to express your interest in having the blind
persons' earnings limit raised along with the adjusted amounts
for seniors. I am currently working, earning more than xxx a
year assisting victims of crime in the Cook County courts system.
I understand deeply how much insecurity I felt leaving the Social
Security roles entirely soon after I started working. I am now a
living, breathing taxpayer contributing to my country. However,
I am concerned about my future and those blind persons still
receiving Social Security and need further incentives to work and
become economically independent as I have done. A detailed
explanation of the reasons to restore the earnings limit linkage
as called for in S. 375 is presented in the fact sheet provided
with this letter. I will appreciate your involvement with this
issue at this time and look forward to hearing from you.
Respectfully,
Kelly Pierce
FACT SHEET
WINNING THE CHANCE TO EARN AND
PAY TAXES:
HOW THE BLIND PERSON'S EARNINGS
LIMIT IN THE SOCIAL SECURITY
ACT MUST BE CHANGED
PENDING BILLS: H.R. 612 ; S. 375
PURPOSE: To restore the linkage between the earnings exemption
threshold for blind persons and the exemption allowed for
retirees at age 65 under title II of the Social Security Act
BACKGROUND: As the result of a 1996 law to raise the debt limit,
senior citizens age 65 to 70 are encouraged to continue working
while retaining entitlement to Social Security benefits. This is
being done by annual changes in the exempt earnings threshold,
which is $14,500 in 1998 and will increase to $30,000 by the year
2002. In making the case for this change, advocates in Congress
explained that senior citizens in greater numbers would now have
the opportunity to work, earn, and pay taxes.
In spite of a law passed in 1977 to establish the
earnings exemption threshold for blind people at the identical
exempt amount used for seniors, a decision was made to exclude
the blind from the higher exemptions. This means that a lower
earnings limit for the blind is now in effect. This lower limit
for 1998 is $12,600. By 2002, when the exemption for seniors
becomes $30,000, the lower limit for the blind is expected to be
$14,400.
Earnings of this amount for a blind person who is
age 64 will cause the complete loss of Social Security benefits
until the individual becomes a retiree at age 65. At that point
the same individual is allowed to earn more than twice the amount
allowed for the blind. This is the inequity that now exists.
EXISTING LAW: Section 216(i) of the Social Security Act defines
"blindness" in precise medical terms. Therefore, blindness--as
with age--can be determined with reasonable certainty. In this
respect, blindness is unlike any other disability subject to
evaluation under the Social Security Act. All other disabilities
are determined on the basis of an individual's "inability to
engage in substantial gainful activity," which is a complex and
fairly subjective determination in many cases.
Although blindness is precisely defined, monthly
benefits are not paid to all persons who are blind but only to
those whose earnings (if any) are below the annually adjusted
limit. Personal wealth not resulting from current work activity
does not count as earnings and has no effect on eligibility.
Only work is penalized. It was the recognition of this fact that
led to the greater exemption of earnings now allowed for seniors,
and the situation for blind people is precisely the same.
ACTION REQUESTED: Congress should restore work incentive equity
by reenacting the identical earnings exemption threshold for
blind and senior citizen beneficiaries under title II of the
Social Security Act. Legislation to achieve this objective has
been offered in bills submitted in both the House and the Senate.
The House bill is H.R. 612, sponsored by Representative Barbara
Kennelly. The companion bill in the Senate is S. 375, sponsored
by Senators McCain and Dodd. Although neither bill was
considered beyond introduction in the last session of Congress,
an impressive list of cosponsors indicates that substantial,
bipartisan support exists in both the House and the Senate.
The National Federation of the Blind strongly
supports this legislation. By creating a lower earnings limit
for the blind, the action in the 104th Congress has resulted in a
harsh work
disincentive policy which is widely regarded as an inequity
created in the rush to pass the 1996 debt ceiling bill.
NEED TO REMOVE WORK DISINCENTIVES: Mandating the adjustments in
the earnings limit for blind people in the manner now allowed for
age 65 retirees will provide more than 100,000 blind
beneficiaries with a powerful work incentive. Most blind people
could then not lose financially by working. Moreover, the
mandated earnings limit changes would be cost-beneficial, since
among those of working age most blind people are already
beneficiaries. At present their earnings must not exceed a
strict limit of $1,050 per month. When earnings exceed this
exempt amount, the entire sum paid to a primary beneficiary and
dependents is abruptly withdrawn after a trial work period.
When a blind person finds work, there is absolutely
no assurance that earnings will replace the amount of lost
disability benefits after taxes and work expenses are paid.
Usually they do not. Therefore, few beneficiaries can actually
afford to attempt substantial work. Those who do will often
sacrifice income and will certainly sacrifice the security they
have from the automatic receipt of a monthly check.
This group of beneficiaries--people of working age
who are blind--must not be forgotten now that the earnings
exemption has been raised for seniors. Just as with hundreds of
thousands of seniors, the positive response of blind people to
the higher earnings exemptions will bring additional revenues
into the Social Security trust funds. The chance to work, earn,
and pay taxes is a constructive and valid goal for senior
citizens and blind Americans alike.
COSPONSORS OF S. 375
ALABAMA
Senator, Richard Shelby, R
ARKANSAS
Senator Tim Hutchinson, R
ARIZONA
Senator John McCain, R
CALIFORNIA
Senator Barbara Boxer, D
COLORADO
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R
CONNECTICUT
Senator Christopher, Dodd, D
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, D
DELAWARE
Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr., D
FLORIDA
Senator Connie Mack, R
IOWA
Senator Charles Grassley, R
Senator Tom Harkin, D
ILLINOIS
Senator Richard J. Durbin, D
Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, D
KANSAS
Senator Sam Brownback, R
Senator Pat Roberts, R
KENTUCKY
Senator Wendell Ford, D
LOUISIANA
Senator John B. Breaux, D
Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D
MASSACHUSETTS
Senator John F. Kerry, D
MINNESOTA
Senator Paul Wellstone, D
MISSOURI
Senator Christopher S. Bond, R
MISSISSIPPI
Senator Thad Cochran, R
Senator Trent Lott, R
NEBRASKA
Senator Chuck Hagel, R
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Senator Judd Gregg, R
Senator Robert C. Smith, R
NEW MEXICO
Senator Jeff Bingaman, D
NEVADA
Senator Harry Reid, D
OHIO
Senator Mike DeWine, R
Senator John Glenn, D
OREGON
Senator Ron Wyden, D
RHODE ISLAND
Senator Jack Reed, D
SOUTH CAROLINA
Senator Ernest Hollings, D
Senator Strom Thurmond, R
SOUTH DAKOTA
Senator Thomas Daschle, D
VIRGINIA
Senator John W. Warner, R
WASHINGTON
Senator Patty Murray, D
**********************************************
URGENT NOTICE AND CALL FOR ACTION
DATE: September 23, 1998
FROM: James Gashel
Director of Governmental Affairs
RE: The Social Security earnings limit--ACTION NEEDED NOW!
The issue of the Social Security earnings limit and its
effect
on blind people is now coming down to the "end of session
legislation" that Congress will consider and pass before the
planned adjournment on October 9. In fact, a proposal to raise the
senior citizens' earnings limit through an additional series of
mandated steps has been included in a tax relief bill which the
House will very likely pass this week.
The proposal made in H.R. 4579 calls for raising the seniors'
limit to $17,000 for 1999 from $15,500 scheduled to take effect
under current law. Also, the limit which is scheduled to rise to
$30,000 in 2002 would be adjusted further in a series of annual
steps through 2008 and become $39,750 in that year.
A conforming amendment to exclude the blind from these
adjustments has been included in the bill before the House. If the
amendment is removed in the Senate, the linkage of the blind
persons' and senior citizens' exemptions could be restored
effective in 1999. Although the House must eventually agree with
this, the focus right now is solely on the Senate. Therefore, a
maximum effort must now be made to secure such an amendment.
At this point, we have requested help from both Senator
McCain
and Senator Dodd. They are the principal sponsors of the Blind
Persons' Earnings Equity Act, S. 375. With Senator Lott, the
Majority leader, and Senator Daschle, the Minority Leader, as
cosponsors, we are well positioned for an effort to obtain an
acceptable amendment.
Therefore, all Senators should be contacted for support.
Those who are cosponsors of S. 375 are most likely to help. Anyone
who will do so should contact Senator Lott and Senator Daschle to
express their interest in having the blind persons' earnings limit
raised along with the adjusted amounts for seniors. Also, all
Senators should be urged to notify Senator McCain and Senator Dodd
of their desire to restore the earnings exemption linkage.
Finally, communications with Senator Lott and Senator Daschle
from anyone anywhere in the country are encouraged. The letter
that follows provides information that might be used in this
effort. Also, the list of current Senate cosponsors follows the
letter. These Senators should be most likely to be willing to help
us in this, but they are not the only ones. So, let's all get with
it and make the effort!!
[sample letter, fact sheet, and list of co-sponsors snipped because of
space, look for it
above]
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