Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am pleased today to join my colleague, Senator Dodd, in introducing an important piece of legislation that will have an enormously positive impact on and improve the lives of blind Americans in the workforce. For too long, capable and talented blind Americans who have the desire and ability to fully participate in the workforce have been discouraged from doing so because of outdated federal disability laws.

Current law stifles earnings opportunities for blind individuals by cancelling all disability assistance for the first dollar of earnings over the government-set threshold. As a result, blind individuals covered by Social Security Disability Insurance, SSDI, which was created to provide security and stability to blind workers during periods of unemployment, are discouraged from expanding their employment opportunities beyond the earnings limitation for fear of suddenly losing their benefits.

Senator Dodd and I have been longtime supporters of legislation that would increase the earnings limit for those covered by SSDI. A similar policy was enacted for senior citizens with the adoption of the Senior Citizens Freedom to Work Act. The act eliminated the earnings limit for certain seniors covered by Social Security and thereby encouraged more seniors to participate in the workforce.

The current proposal, the Blind Persons Return to Work Act, is an improvement on past policy proposals focusing on modestly increasing the earnings limit. Rather than simply increasing the earnings limit for blind individuals, the act would allow for a gradual phase-out of Federal benefits for every $3 earned over the current limit, providing blind individuals the opportunity to increase their earnings as the SSDI benefit decreases.

The unemployment rate for working-age blind people is currently 70 percent. Many of these individuals are extremely talented and capable of fully contributing to the workforce, and we should provide them an incentive to reach their full potential while reducing the number of federal beneficiaries. The proposal will ease the transition from relying solely upon SSDI benefits to becoming active and productive members of the workforce.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Blind Americans Return to Work Act, to treat blind individuals fairly and to allow them to achieve increased financial independence.

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