Today, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY) said that cuts in Social Security benefits for the disabled or for survivors would be totally wrong. In New York, more than 396,663 survivors received Social Security benefits and 483,959 received Social Security disability benefits in 2003.

Maloney said, “The President’s reckless scheme to privatize Social Security gets worse by the week. Only now, we are finding out that it could slash benefits to children who have lost a parent, to widows, and to the disabled. Any reform of Social Security should start with a commitment to the disabled and to the survivors of those who lose loved ones. Instead, the Bush administration is admitting that the privatization plan includes possible cuts to disability and survivor benefits. We need to strengthen Social Security, not cut away at it like this.”

Social Security provides monthly survivor benefits to nearly 7 million spouses and children who have lost a parent, and helps the families of workers who suffer an early death, which can significantly help with the child’s living expenses and savings for college. Almost 8 million people with disabilities depend on Social Security - providing more than half the total income for more than half of all people with disabilities receiving Social Security and their families.

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