Fourteen Congress representatives are managing an
investigation to those who are in charge of handling Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) benefits. This investigation
was launched after reports of alleged mismanagement of funding within the
program. Lawmakers want the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) to focus on the efficiency of the program as well
as provide more choices for those people with physical/mental challenges who
need help with benefits.
Congress members sent a letter to the GAO recently. This letter documented distress over the
current system. It was discovered that a
couple in Philadelphia locked four people with mental challenges in a basement
to maintain their SSI.
“Despite requirements in the law and regulations… the SSA’s
oversight of representative payees remains a clear challenge,” wrote Rep. Sam
Johnson, R-Texas, and 13 other Republican members of the U.S. House Ways and
Means Committee.
Representative payees are people who control SSI benefits
for people with physical/mental challenges because of age or challenge. There
are about 5.6 million representative payees across country. They are responsible for about $61 million in
benefits for 7.6 million people with physical/mental challenges.
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