{"id":16999,"date":"2025-08-28T17:11:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T17:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=16999"},"modified":"2025-08-28T17:11:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T17:11:37","slug":"congress-moves-to-block-trumps-social-security-assault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/28\/congress-moves-to-block-trumps-social-security-assault\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress Moves to Block Trump\u2019s Social Security Assault"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Stacy M. Brown<\/strong><\/em>
\nBlack Press USA Senior National Correspondent<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In its nonstop assault on the most vulnerable Americans, the Trump administration is preparing to impose sweeping cuts to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a program that provides a lifeline for the nation\u2019s poorest seniors, children and severely disabled adults. The proposed rule would strip eligibility from hundreds of thousands and slash monthly payments by as much as one-third, even as new data confirms Social Security\u2019s trust funds are facing insolvency within the next decade.<\/p>\n

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), nearly 400,000 people stand to lose critical income. That includes more than 275,000 who would see cuts of about $300 a month, and over 100,000 who could lose their benefits entirely. The changes target families already under strain, specifically SSI recipients living with relatives who receive SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.<\/p>\n

Reversing Protections for Struggling Families<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Biden administration had expanded the definition of \u201cpublic assistance household,\u201d shielding recipients from the harshest penalties. That safeguard ensured that low-income families receiving food assistance would not be punished for offering shelter to an elderly parent or disabled child. Trump\u2019s rollback would erase that protection, returning to outdated rules from 1980. \u201cReceiving food assistance from SNAP would no longer be enough to qualify a family as a \u2018public assistance household,\u201d CBPP analysts warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe resulting SSI benefit cuts would be felt in low-income households with disabled family members or older relatives across the country.\u201d The typical multi-person SNAP household with an SSI recipient survives on about $17,000 annually\u2014well below the poverty line. Under the new rule, a woman with Down Syndrome living with low-income parents could see her benefits plunge from $967 to less than $700 a month, with families forced to track and report household expenses line by line.<\/p>\n

Fallout Across the States<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every state would be affected. California could lose benefits for 57,600 people, New York 35,900, Florida 30,800, and Texas 23,600. Even small states like Vermont, Wyoming and Alaska face losses. Advocates warn that the proposal would drive more disabled people into institutions, increase homelessness, and add crushing red tape. The cuts come as Social Security marked its 90th anniversary. Nearly 70 million Americans depend on the program, but the latest Trustees\u2019 report projects its trust funds will be depleted by 2034, triggering an automatic 23 percent cut to monthly checks unless Congress acts.<\/p>\n

Unions and Lawmakers Push Back<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unions and community groups are mobilizing. The AFL-CIO\u2019s \u201cIt\u2019s Better in a Union\u201d bus tour stopped in Bakersfield, California, where California Nurses Association president Sandy Reding blasted the Trump budget bill as \u201ca cruel piece of legislation that will have disastrous consequences for the most vulnerable in our communities, including the patients I care for in Bakersfield.\u201d In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) President Everett Kelley pledged to fight Social Security staffing cuts. \u201cAcross the country, we are using our voice\u2014as workers, as parents, as people who care about our communities\u2014to demand that this administration and Congress do whatever it takes to protect Social Security,\u201d Kelley asserted. \u201cThe American people deserve nothing less.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democratic leaders are also taking action. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is preparing a September bill he calls the \u201cKeep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act,\u201d aimed at reversing Trump\u2019s cuts, reopening shuttered field offices, and restoring staffing. \u201cSocial Security to me means my life,\u201d said Ellen Carter, a New York recipient. \u201cIt means medicine gets paid; it means that I have a place to sleep at night.\u201d Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced a companion bill in the Senate that would add $5 billion in funding, restore staff, safeguard data, and launch an investigation into the Department of Government Efficiency, which has overseen the Trump administration\u2019s Social Security cutbacks. \u201cTrump and his Republican allies have made it crystal clear\u2014holding on to earned benefits requires vigilant defense,\u201d Wyden said.<\/p>\n

The Stakes for Millions<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the 7.5 million Americans who rely on SSI each month, including many with severe disabilities, the stakes are life and death. \u201cFor 90 years, we\u2019ve kept America\u2019s greatest anti-poverty success story alive,\u201d Jessica Lapointe, president of AFGE Council 220, told reporters. \u201cWe serve widows, orphans, the elderly, disabled, every vulnerable soul in your families and your communities, and they deserve respect and dignity when they come for their earned benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent In its nonstop assault on the most vulnerable Americans, the Trump administration is preparing to impose sweeping cuts to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a program that provides a lifeline for the nation\u2019s poorest seniors, children and severely disabled adults. The proposed rule would strip eligibility […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,252],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[308],"class_list":["post-16999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-opinion","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17000,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16999\/revisions\/17000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16999"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=16999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}