WIPA and PABSS Reauthorization Act of 2009

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3325) to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to reauthorize for 1 year the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance program and the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security program.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 3325, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Today I want to join with our colleagues on the Social Security Subcommittee and Mr. Johnson, our ranking member, in support of this reauthorization for 1 year. It is a 1-year extension of two programs that help Social Security and Social Security beneficiaries return to work.

The WIPA, the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance, program allows disability beneficiaries to get one-on-one assistance from community organizations to help them understand the rules and the effect they will have on their benefits if they return to work. The PABSS program, Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security, provides legal advocacy services to help beneficiaries get a job or keep their job. The disability advocates and the return-to-work experts have both testified before our subcommittee about the effectiveness of these programs and how they will help people return to the workplace.

The reason we are doing this today is because the authorization for these programs will expire in September. The bill extends for 1 year the programs with no changes while the committee considers a longer- term reauthorization. The bill does not increase government spending because it comes from the discretionary reserves of the Social Security Administration.

What this bill actually does extending these programs, Mr. Speaker, is it actually helps people who have been sick or disabled who want to go back to work and become no longer a recipient of these sorts of public assistance to do so. So I think it is not only a worthwhile enterprise in terms of what the Subcommittee on Social Security has done, but it also is something that will strengthen the vibrancy of our economy as people who have been disabled or sick can actually return to the workplace.

Today I join with my colleagues, Sam Johnson, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Social Security, and Jim McDermott, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, in support of the ``WIPA and PABSS Reauthorization Act of 2009.'' This bill will extend, for one year, two programs that provide critical assistance for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SST) disability beneficiaries who are seeking to return to work.

Both of these programs were originally established in the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, which passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. Under, the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program, the Social Security Administration (SSA) funds community-based organizations to provide personalized assistance to Social Security and SSI disability beneficiaries who want to work, to help these beneficiaries understand SSA's complex work incentive policies and the effect that working will have on their benefits. This program can help to reduce the fears many beneficiaries have about transitioning to employment.

Under the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) program, SSA awards grants to designated Protection and Advocacy Systems to provide legal advocacy services that beneficiaries need to secure, maintain, or regain employment. The PABSS program also provides beneficiaries

with information and advice about obtaining vocational rehabilitation and employment services.

The Subcommittee on Social Security has received extensive testimony from disability advocates, experts, and other stakeholders about the importance of these programs to increasing employment among disability beneficiaries.

SSA is currently authorized to spend $23 million annually from its administrative budget to fund the WIPA program, and $7 million annually to fund the PABSS program. However, the authorization for both programs expires on September 30, 2009.

This bill will extend the WIPA and PABSS programs for one year, with no changes, while the Committee considers a longer-term reauthorization. This 1-year extension will ensure that these programs can continue to provide disability beneficiaries with the assistance they need to seek employment. The bill does not increase government spending.

I urge your support for extending these important programs.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Johnson.

I have no other speakers and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of passage of this important legislation and thank Mr. Tanner for bringing it up. He is doing a great job as the Social Security chairman.

You know, choosing to work shouldn't be a hard decision to make for someone receiving Supplemental Security, because they are Social Security disability benefits. But it is, and that is because the folks have to think about how their wages will impact their cash benefits or their access to health care.

With nearly unanimous support from both the House and Senate, almost 10 years ago Congress passed Ticket to Work and the Work Incentives Improvement Act, a law that was about helping those with disabilities to get back to work in order to support themselves and their families. The two grant programs we would reauthorize today were created as a part of that landmark legislation.

The Work Incentives Planning Assistance program funds community-based organizations to assist those receiving benefits to understand Social Security's complex rules and the effect of working on their benefits. Today, there are over 104 community-based cooperative agreements to ensure these services are available in all 50 States. Since the program began, over 350,000 people have been served.

One example is the Work Incentive Planning Assistance program of Easter Seals in north Texas, which serves 19 counties in the north Texas area, including my district. Thanks to their good work over the past 3 years, their staff experts have served 1,302 people, and 184 of them now still have jobs.

The Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security program funds 57 grant programs covering all 50 States. These programs served almost 2,500 people last year and helped those working or trying to work by responding to their questions and resolving potential disputes with their employer or with an agency providing them with return-to-work services.

The authorized funding level of $30 million has remained constant since these programs were created. Should Congress not act, these programs would expire on September 30, 2009, and the funding would end.

While I support a 1-year extension of these two important programs, at a Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security hearing, we learned that Social Security's primary return-to-work program, Ticket to Work, really hasn't been working. Fortunately, we are beginning to see promising signs of success in the Ticket program since new regulations to fix it were implemented last summer.

Now, more than ever, how every taxpayer dollar is spent does matter. Programs that don't achieve results must be changed or must end. To that end, I look forward to working with Chairman Tanner and all the members of the committee to figure out how all return-to-work programs can achieve their goal of a job and self-sufficiency for those who choose to return to work.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I urge the Senate to pass by unanimous consent the WIPA and PABSS Reauthorization Act of 2009--H.R. 3325-- which was passed recently by the House of Representatives. The bill will extend, for 1 year, two programs that provide important assistance for Social Security and supplemental security income, SSI, disability beneficiaries who would like to return to work.

Both of these programs were included in the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, which passed Congress with bipartisan support. Under the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance, WIPA, program, the Social Security Administration, SSA, funds community-based organizations to provide personalized assistance to Social Security and SSI disability beneficiaries who want to work, by helping these beneficiaries understand SSA's complex work incentive policies and the effect that working will have on their benefits. This program can help to reduce the fears many beneficiaries have about attempting to return to work.

Under the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security, PABSS, Program, SSA awards grants to protection and advocacy systems to provide legal advocacy services that beneficiaries need to secure, maintain, or regain employment. The PABSS Program also provides beneficiaries with information and advice about obtaining vocational rehabilitation and employment services.

The Finance Committee and other committees in Congress have received testimony from disability advocates and other stakeholders about the importance of these programs to increasing employment among disability beneficiaries.

The Social Security Administration is currently authorized to spend $23 million annually from its administrative budget to fund the WIPA Program, and $7 million annually to fund the PABSS Program. However, the authorization for both programs expires on September 30, 2009.

This bill will extend the WIPA and PABSS Programs for 1 year, with no changes, while the relevant committees in Congress consider a longer term reauthorization. This 1-year extension will ensure that these programs can continue to provide disability beneficiaries with the assistance they need to return to work.

I thank my colleagues for their support for temporarily extending these important programs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3325.

The Work Incentives Planning and Assistance program and the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security program play crucial roles in the lives of SSA's beneficiaries with disabilities.

The two programs enable these beneficiaries to make informed choices about work as well as providing them with the necessary services to successfully transition back into the workforce.

For instance, the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Program helps guide them by providing important information about opportunities and resources that help them make an informed decision.

Importantly, these programs provide services, free of charge, to individuals receiving Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income.

A one year reauthorization will ensure that these vulnerable Americans may continue to receive guidance, support, and legal representation.

At a time of increased economic hardship across the country, it is vitally important that we not forget those most in need.

H.R. 3325 has strong bi-partisan support, as it should, and deserves overwhelming support when we vote in order to send a message to SSA beneficiaries with disabilities that they are not forgotten and we stand by their side.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3325 and that the Senate then proceed to its consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; further that any statements be printed in the Record.