SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
My experience with SSI has shown me how outrageous it is that Congress has failed to act to update the program in decades. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
SSI Is Outdated, Complicated, and Cruel. Build Back Better Can Fix It.
The SSI Restoration Act would fix and update SSI by not only updating the program's asset limits for inflation, but also by increasing sub-poverty benefits, raising outdated income limits, and eliminating penalties for marriage and family support.
Oct 28, 2021
For the last 17 years, I've had to fight two painful battles. One is against a chronic illness. The other is against my own government, to qualify for and keep the disability benefits and health care that I need to survive. No one should ever have to go through what I've been through. Congress now has a rare chance to fix and update some of the key problems with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as part of the Build Back Better package.
When I was in college in 2001, I got food poisoning that paralyzed part of my stomach. And so began a long battle with an illness. I never thought I would need Medicare, Medicaid, or disability benefits. But I couldn't pay my bills anymore and had to file for SSI and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
My experience with SSI has shown me how outrageous it is that Congress has failed to act to update the program in decades. As a result, it has become a poverty trap for millions of disabled people.
It took me years and an attorney to finally get a judge to approve my applications for Social Security disability benefits. I was told at the time I would get housing support from the government as well. After 17 years, I currently sit at number 4000 on the waitlist for Section 8 housing.
My experience with SSI has shown me how outrageous it is that Congress has failed to act to update the program in decades. As a result, it has become a poverty trap for millions of disabled people. I am highly educated--graduated summa cum laude--and I live in the suburbs. But the program's rules are so complicated and outdated that it's nearly impossible to avoid running into problems that jeopardize your benefits.
For example, in 2014, the SSA told me I had $3 too much in my bank account. I was allegedly in violation of an SSI program rule prohibiting recipients from having any more than $2000 in resources--an amount that hasn't been updated since 1989. Losing SSI wouldn't just mean I could no longer pay my bills; it would also mean losing Medicaid, which I rely on for health care.
For over six months, I fought to stop the government from taking away my benefits and health care. I tried everything I could think of, including contacting my Congressman for help. Finally, I appealed to a Social Security administrative law judge who, after looking into my case, found that I had never actually gone over SSI's $2000 asset limit. The Social Security Administration had made an error. Yet I nearly lost my income assistance and health care.
In my work as an activist, I've met many high-profile individuals from mayors to members of Congress. I've even met President Joe Biden. And in all these years nothing has changed. SSI's woefully outdated rules desperately need to be fixed and updated now--not next year or next Congress.
The Build Back Better package offers us the opportunity to end a moral wrong that never gets the attention from our leaders that it should. The SSI Restoration Act would fix and update SSI by not only updating the program's asset limits for inflation, but also by increasing sub-poverty benefits, raising outdated income limits, and eliminating penalties for marriage and family support.
While the entire Restoration Act is urgently needed to do right by the program's nearly eight million beneficiaries, Congress can and should include at least some of these reforms in Build Back Better. And it could do so relatively cheaply: in just one example, updating SSI's asset limits would cost just $8 billion over the next decade--which, as SSI champion Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has noted, would be a literal rounding error in the bill, even as it gets slimmed down.
No matter how poor or how rich you currently are, a day may come when you find yourself in need of SSI. Like me, you will discover that the program is outdated, complicated, and needlessly cruel.
Every day, I wake up to a broken promise from the government simply because I became suddenly ill all those years ago. It's time for Congress to finally keep that promise by reforming SSI in Build Back Better.
Why Your Ongoing Support Is Essential
Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy, justice, and a free press are escalating — putting everything we stand for at risk. We believe a better world is possible, but we can’t get there without your support. Common Dreams stands apart. We answer only to you — our readers, activists, and changemakers — not to billionaires or corporations. Our independence allows us to cover the vital stories that others won’t, spotlighting movements for peace, equality, and human rights. Right now, our work faces unprecedented challenges. Misinformation is spreading, journalists are under attack, and financial pressures are mounting. As a reader-supported, nonprofit newsroom, your support is crucial to keep this journalism alive. Whatever you can give — $10, $25, or $100 — helps us stay strong and responsive when the world needs us most. Together, we’ll continue to build the independent, courageous journalism our movement relies on. Thank you for being part of this community. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Art Pronin
Art Pronin is a civic leader in the Meyerland area of Houston and a patient rights advocate.
For the last 17 years, I've had to fight two painful battles. One is against a chronic illness. The other is against my own government, to qualify for and keep the disability benefits and health care that I need to survive. No one should ever have to go through what I've been through. Congress now has a rare chance to fix and update some of the key problems with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as part of the Build Back Better package.
When I was in college in 2001, I got food poisoning that paralyzed part of my stomach. And so began a long battle with an illness. I never thought I would need Medicare, Medicaid, or disability benefits. But I couldn't pay my bills anymore and had to file for SSI and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
My experience with SSI has shown me how outrageous it is that Congress has failed to act to update the program in decades. As a result, it has become a poverty trap for millions of disabled people.
It took me years and an attorney to finally get a judge to approve my applications for Social Security disability benefits. I was told at the time I would get housing support from the government as well. After 17 years, I currently sit at number 4000 on the waitlist for Section 8 housing.
My experience with SSI has shown me how outrageous it is that Congress has failed to act to update the program in decades. As a result, it has become a poverty trap for millions of disabled people. I am highly educated--graduated summa cum laude--and I live in the suburbs. But the program's rules are so complicated and outdated that it's nearly impossible to avoid running into problems that jeopardize your benefits.
For example, in 2014, the SSA told me I had $3 too much in my bank account. I was allegedly in violation of an SSI program rule prohibiting recipients from having any more than $2000 in resources--an amount that hasn't been updated since 1989. Losing SSI wouldn't just mean I could no longer pay my bills; it would also mean losing Medicaid, which I rely on for health care.
For over six months, I fought to stop the government from taking away my benefits and health care. I tried everything I could think of, including contacting my Congressman for help. Finally, I appealed to a Social Security administrative law judge who, after looking into my case, found that I had never actually gone over SSI's $2000 asset limit. The Social Security Administration had made an error. Yet I nearly lost my income assistance and health care.
In my work as an activist, I've met many high-profile individuals from mayors to members of Congress. I've even met President Joe Biden. And in all these years nothing has changed. SSI's woefully outdated rules desperately need to be fixed and updated now--not next year or next Congress.
The Build Back Better package offers us the opportunity to end a moral wrong that never gets the attention from our leaders that it should. The SSI Restoration Act would fix and update SSI by not only updating the program's asset limits for inflation, but also by increasing sub-poverty benefits, raising outdated income limits, and eliminating penalties for marriage and family support.
While the entire Restoration Act is urgently needed to do right by the program's nearly eight million beneficiaries, Congress can and should include at least some of these reforms in Build Back Better. And it could do so relatively cheaply: in just one example, updating SSI's asset limits would cost just $8 billion over the next decade--which, as SSI champion Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has noted, would be a literal rounding error in the bill, even as it gets slimmed down.
No matter how poor or how rich you currently are, a day may come when you find yourself in need of SSI. Like me, you will discover that the program is outdated, complicated, and needlessly cruel.
Every day, I wake up to a broken promise from the government simply because I became suddenly ill all those years ago. It's time for Congress to finally keep that promise by reforming SSI in Build Back Better.
Art Pronin
Art Pronin is a civic leader in the Meyerland area of Houston and a patient rights advocate.
For the last 17 years, I've had to fight two painful battles. One is against a chronic illness. The other is against my own government, to qualify for and keep the disability benefits and health care that I need to survive. No one should ever have to go through what I've been through. Congress now has a rare chance to fix and update some of the key problems with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as part of the Build Back Better package.
When I was in college in 2001, I got food poisoning that paralyzed part of my stomach. And so began a long battle with an illness. I never thought I would need Medicare, Medicaid, or disability benefits. But I couldn't pay my bills anymore and had to file for SSI and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
My experience with SSI has shown me how outrageous it is that Congress has failed to act to update the program in decades. As a result, it has become a poverty trap for millions of disabled people.
It took me years and an attorney to finally get a judge to approve my applications for Social Security disability benefits. I was told at the time I would get housing support from the government as well. After 17 years, I currently sit at number 4000 on the waitlist for Section 8 housing.
My experience with SSI has shown me how outrageous it is that Congress has failed to act to update the program in decades. As a result, it has become a poverty trap for millions of disabled people. I am highly educated--graduated summa cum laude--and I live in the suburbs. But the program's rules are so complicated and outdated that it's nearly impossible to avoid running into problems that jeopardize your benefits.
For example, in 2014, the SSA told me I had $3 too much in my bank account. I was allegedly in violation of an SSI program rule prohibiting recipients from having any more than $2000 in resources--an amount that hasn't been updated since 1989. Losing SSI wouldn't just mean I could no longer pay my bills; it would also mean losing Medicaid, which I rely on for health care.
For over six months, I fought to stop the government from taking away my benefits and health care. I tried everything I could think of, including contacting my Congressman for help. Finally, I appealed to a Social Security administrative law judge who, after looking into my case, found that I had never actually gone over SSI's $2000 asset limit. The Social Security Administration had made an error. Yet I nearly lost my income assistance and health care.
In my work as an activist, I've met many high-profile individuals from mayors to members of Congress. I've even met President Joe Biden. And in all these years nothing has changed. SSI's woefully outdated rules desperately need to be fixed and updated now--not next year or next Congress.
The Build Back Better package offers us the opportunity to end a moral wrong that never gets the attention from our leaders that it should. The SSI Restoration Act would fix and update SSI by not only updating the program's asset limits for inflation, but also by increasing sub-poverty benefits, raising outdated income limits, and eliminating penalties for marriage and family support.
While the entire Restoration Act is urgently needed to do right by the program's nearly eight million beneficiaries, Congress can and should include at least some of these reforms in Build Back Better. And it could do so relatively cheaply: in just one example, updating SSI's asset limits would cost just $8 billion over the next decade--which, as SSI champion Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has noted, would be a literal rounding error in the bill, even as it gets slimmed down.
No matter how poor or how rich you currently are, a day may come when you find yourself in need of SSI. Like me, you will discover that the program is outdated, complicated, and needlessly cruel.
Every day, I wake up to a broken promise from the government simply because I became suddenly ill all those years ago. It's time for Congress to finally keep that promise by reforming SSI in Build Back Better.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
LATEST NEWS
Third Court This Month Blocks Trump's 'Flagrantly Unconstitutional' Birthright Order
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin of Massachusetts found an exception to the Supreme Court's recent limit on nationwide injunctions.
Jul 26, 2025
For the third time since the U.S. Supreme Court used the case to limit nationwide injunctions in June, a court has blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship from going into effect.
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin of Massachusetts ruled on Friday that a nationwide injunction he had granted to over 12 states still applied under an exception laid out in the Supreme Court decision.
"We are thrilled that the district court again barred President Trump's flagrantly unconstitutional birthright citizenship order from taking effect anywhere," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, whose state took the lead on bringing the case, said in a statement.
Trump issued an executive order in January ending birthright citizenship for children born to parents with no legal status, a move widely decried as unconstitutional. Several lawsuits followed, resulting in a nationwide injunction blocking the order from taking effect.
"American-born babies are American, just as they have been at every other time in our Nation's history."
In June, the Supreme Court weighed in by limiting the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions, but declining to comment on the constitutionality of the order itself. However, the nation's highest court did say that states could receive nationwide injunctions if it was the only way to offer full relief, which Sorokin determined Friday was indeed the case.
The states had argued that the birthright order, in addition to being unconstitutional, would put millions of dollars for citizenship-dependent health insurance assistance at risk, according to The Associated Press. Sorokin determined anything less than a nationwide ban would not provide full relief to the states, given that people often move across state lines.
"The record does not support a finding that any narrower option would feasibly and adequately protect the plaintiffs from the injuries they have shown they are likely to suffer if the unlawful policy announced in the Executive Order takes effect during the pendency of this lawsuit," Sorokin wrote in his decision.
His ruling followed two others blocking the order since the Supreme Court decision: A July 10 ruling from a federal New Hampshire judge establishing a nationwide class in a new class-action lawsuit, and a determination from a federal appeals court in San Francisco on Wednesday that the order was unconstitutional and the block could stay in effect to offer states relief.
In his decision Friday, Sorokin said the Trump administration was "entitled to pursue their interpretation of the 14th Amendment, and no doubt the Supreme Court will ultimately settle the question," adding, "But in the meantime, for purposes of this lawsuit at this juncture, the Executive Order is unconstitutional."
In response, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Newsweek, "These courts are misinterpreting the purpose and the text of the 14th Amendment," adding, "We look forward to being vindicated on appeal."
Patkin, however, celebrated the ruling: "The district court's decision, consistent with the Supreme Court's own instructions, recognizes that this illegal action cannot take effect anywhere without harming New Jersey and the other states who joined in these challenges. American-born babies are American, just as they have been at every other time in our Nation's history. The president cannot change that legal rule with the stroke of a pen."
Senate Urged to Block Bove After Second DOJ Whistleblower Comes Forward
"What is it going to take for Senate Republicans to oppose this unfit nominee? Every Republican senator who votes to confirm Bove will be complicit in undermining the rule of law and judicial independence."
Jul 25, 2025
After a second whistleblower came forward claiming that Emil Bove III instructed attorneys at the U.S. Department of Justice to ignore federal court orders, his critics on Friday renewed calls for the Senate to reject the DOJ official's appointment as an appellate judge.
"Evidence is growing that Emil Bove urged Department of Justice lawyers to ignore federal court orders. That alone should disqualify him from a lifetime appointment to one of the most powerful courts in our country," said Sean Eldridge, president and founder of the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, in a statement.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced in late May that he would nominate Bove, his former personal attorney, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Then, last month, a whistleblower complaint was filed by Erez Reuveni, who was fired from the DOJ's Office of Immigration Litigation in April after expressing concerns about the Kilmar Ábrego García case.
On Friday, as the Republican-controlled Senate was moving toward confirming Bove, the group Whistleblower Aid announced that another former Justice Department lawyer, whose name is not being disclosed, "has lawfully disclosed evidence to the DOJ's Office of the Inspector General that corroborates the thrust of the whistleblower claims" from Reuveni.
"Loyalty to one individual must never outweigh supporting and protecting the fundamental rights of those living in the United States."
"What we're seeing here is something I never thought would be possible on such a wide scale: federal prosecutors appointed by the Trump administration intentionally presenting dubious if not outright false evidence to a court of jurisdiction in cases that impact a person's fundamental rights not only under our Constitution, but their natural rights as humans," said Whistleblower Aid chief legal counsel Andrew Bakaj in a statement.
"What this means is that federal career attorneys who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution are now being pressured to abdicate that promise in favor of fealty to a single person, specifically Donald Trump. Loyalty to one individual must never outweigh supporting and protecting the fundamental rights of those living in the United States," Bakaj added. "Our client and Mr. Reuveni are true patriots—prioritizing their commitment to democracy over advancing their careers."
Bove has also faced mounting opposition—including from dozens of former judges—due to his embrace of the so-called "unitary executive theory" as well as his positions on a potential third Trump term and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by the president's supporters.
The Senate on Thursday voted 50-48 to proceed with the consideration of Bove's nomination. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) joined all Democrats in opposition. Responding in a statement, Demand Justice interim executive director Maggie Jo Buchanan warned that "Bove will be a stain on the judiciary if confirmed."
"Voting to confirm Trump's judicial nominees to lifetime seats on the federal bench, as he wages a war on the very idea of judicial independence, is an unacceptable choice for any senator who believes in our democracy and the importance of individual rights," said Buchanan, who also blasted the Senate's Tuesday confirmation of Joshua Divine to be a U.S. district judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri.
"Trump and his MAGA allies are helping him consolidate power in the executive branch, attacking judges who dare to rule against his interests, and targeting Trump's perceived political enemies—all while seemingly unconcerned about the future this sets up for our nation," she stressed. "Every senator will have to decide where they stand when it comes to this assault on our country's values—and that choice will not be forgotten."
After news of the second whistleblower complaint broke on Friday, Stand Up America's Eldridge declared that "again and again, Bove has proven he lacks the temperament, integrity, and independence to serve on the federal bench. He's nothing more than a political foot soldier doing Trump's bidding."
"What is it going to take for Senate Republicans to oppose this unfit nominee?" he added. "Every Republican senator who votes to confirm Bove will be complicit in undermining the rule of law and judicial independence."
'You Don't Thank a Burglar for Returning Your Cash': Trump Admin Finally Releases Education Funds
"This administration deserves no credit for just barely averting a crisis they themselves set in motion," said one Democratic senator.
Jul 25, 2025
While welcoming reporting that the Trump administration will release more than $5 billion in federal funding for schools that it has been withholding for nearly a month, U.S. educators and others said Friday that the funds should never have been held up in the first place and warned that the attempt to do so was just one part of an ongoing campaign to undermine public education.
The Trump administration placed nearly $7 billion in federal education funding for K-12 public schools under review last month, then released $1.3 billion of it last week amid legal action and widespread backlash. An administration official speaking on condition of anonymity told The Washington Post that all reviews of remaining funding are now over.
"There is no good reason for the chaos and stress this president has inflicted on students, teachers, and parents across America for the last month, and it shouldn't take widespread blowback for this administration to do its job and simply get the funding out the door that Congress has delivered to help students," U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Friday.
"This administration deserves no credit for just barely averting a crisis they themselves set in motion," Murray added. "You don't thank a burglar for returning your cash after you've spent a month figuring out if you'd have to sell your house to make up the difference."
🚨After unlawfully withholding billions in education funding for schools, the Trump Admin. has reversed course.This is a massive victory for students, educators, & families who depend on these essential resources.And it's a testament to public pressure & relentless organizing.
[image or embed]
— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@pressley.house.gov) July 25, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward—which represents plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's funding freeze—said Friday that "if these reports are true, this is a major victory for public education and the communities it serves."
"This news following our legal challenge is a direct result of collective action by educators, families, and advocates across the country," Perryman asserted. "These funds are critical to keeping teachers in classrooms, supporting students in vulnerable conditions, and ensuring schools can offer the programs and services that every child deserves."
"While this development shows that legal and public pressure can make a difference, school districts, parents, and educators should not have to take the administration to court to secure funds for their students," she added. "Our promise to the people remains: We will go to court to protect the rights and well-being of all people living in America."
Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes—a plaintiff in a separate lawsuit challenging the withholding—attributed the administration's backpedaling to litigatory pressure, arguing that the funding "should never have been withheld in the first place."
They released the 7 B IN SCHOOL FUNDS!! This is a huge win. It means fighting back matters. Fighting for what kids & communities need is always the right thing to do! www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
[image or embed]
— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten.bsky.social) July 25, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association—the largest U.S. labor union—said in a statement: "Playing games with students' futures has real-world consequences. School districts in every state have been scrambling to figure out how they will continue to meet student needs without this vital federal funding, and many students in parts of the country have already headed back to school. These reckless funding delays have undermined planning, staffing, and support services at a time when schools should be focused on preparing students for success."
"Sadly, this is part of a broader pattern by this administration of undermining public education—starving it of resources, sowing distrust, and pushing privatization at the expense of the nation's most vulnerable students," Pringle added. "And they are doing this at the same time Congress has passed a budget bill that will devastate our students, schools, and communities by slashing funds meant for public education, healthcare, and keeping students from their school meals—all to finance massive tax breaks for billionaires."
While expanding support for private education, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month weakens public school programs including before- and after-school initiatives and services for English language learners.
"Sadly, this is part of a broader pattern by this administration of undermining public education."
Trump also signed an executive order in March directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of shutting down the Department of Education—a longtime goal of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led roadmap for a far-right takeover and gutting of the federal government closely linked to Trump, despite his unconvincing efforts to distance himself from the highly controversial and unpopular plan.
Earlier this week, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office determined that the U.S. Health and Human Services Department illegally impounded crucial funds from the Head Start program, which provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and other services to low-income families.
"Instead of spending the last many weeks figuring out how to improve after-school options and get our kids' reading and math scores up, because of President Trump, communities across the country have been forced to spend their time cutting back on tutoring options and sorting out how many teachers they will have to lay off," Murray noted.
"It's time for President Trump, Secretary McMahon, and [Office of Management and Budget Director] Russ Vought to stop playing games with students' futures and families' livelihoods—and end their illegal assault on our students and their schools," the senator added.
Most Popular
We cover the issues the corporate media never will.
Please support our journalism.