February 28, 2020

Representative Jimmy Gomez
1530 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C., 20515

Dear Representative Gomez:

On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, I am writing to endorse your bill, H.R. 6028, the Stable Benefits and Housing Assistance Act.  This important legislation will ensure that individuals participating in local relocation assistance programs will not be at risk of losing their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits solely because of the source of the relocation assistance they receive.

Federal, state and local relocation assistance programs can help fill the gap for individuals who are displaced or evicted through no fault of their own.  However, under current federal law, accepting some forms of local relocation assistance can put vulnerable individuals at risk of losing vitally important assistance from the SSI program.

SSI is an essential safety net program for aged, blind, and disabled individuals, so the possibility of being cut off from SSI can be extremely harmful, since eligibility to SSI usually conveys eligibility to health care benefits through Medicaid.  There are several income and resource exclusions in the SSI program that apply to some, but not all, forms of relocation assistance.

Your bill, the Stable Benefits and Housing Assistance Act, amends the Social Security Act so that all relocation assistance grants received by SSI beneficiaries, regardless of the funding source, are excluded from consideration when determining an individual’s eligibility to SSI benefits.

On behalf of the National Committee, I want to thank you for your leadership in this important issue and look forward to working with you to enact this important legislation.

Sincerely,

Max Richtman
President and CEO