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NY Legislature Protects People with Disabilities from Severe Budget Cuts
December 16th, 2009
New York State provides a supplemental cash allowance to the federal SSI benefit for qualified individuals – those people with little or no income who are age 65 or older, as well as individuals of any age who are blind or disabled. The Executive’s DRP would have slashed the state’s contribution to SSI by $14 a month for an individual living alone and $9 per month for an individual living with others. The SSI rate in New York, combining both the federal SSI benefit and the state supplement, is $761 per month for a person living alone.
The Assembly also substantially reduced the Governor’s proposal to cut reimbursements for home care, another program that people with disabilities heavily rely on in order to live independently in their own homes and in their own communities.
“The Assembly was able to hold the line on cuts that would have devastated people with disabilities,” Assembly Member Bing said. “In particular, I am extremely proud that we did not allow the state supplement of SSI to be reduced.”
Bing noted that because of the extremely high unemployment rate of people with disabilities, many disabled individuals from across the state rely on their SSI payments as their only source of income. Therefore, cutting SSI by even just a few dollars a month could put a severe financial strain on the state’s most vulnerable citizens.
“I completely understand the unenviable position that the Governor is in because of the very tough economic climate that we are dealing with,” Bing said. “I am thankful for all of the disability advocates who have come out in force to speak out against the proposed cuts, and will look forward to their input on the 2010-2011 Executive Budget when it is released.”
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