From the Senate Floor, Senator Collins Introduces the We Can’t Wait Act

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins spoke from the Senate floor, urging her colleagues to support the We Can’t Wait Act, bipartisan legislation she introduced today with Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH). The bill would allow Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claimants to begin receiving benefits immediately after approval, rather than waiting five months, in exchange for a modest, actuarially sound reduction in their monthly benefit amount.

A transcript of her remarks is as follows:

“Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the We Can't Wait Act, a bipartisan bill with my colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Hassan. This legislation addresses a pressing and unnecessary hardship in our Social Security Disability Insurance program. This program, known as SSDI, provides eligible individuals with benefits if they become disabled and unable to work. Our bill would give eligible individuals with disabilities the option of bypassing the current five-month waiting period and allow them to access the benefits that they have earned without further delay.

“As my colleagues are aware, SSDI benefits are available only to those who have worked long enough and contributed sufficiently through payroll taxes to the Social Security Disability Trust Fund. When an individual becomes disabled and meets the program strict eligibility standards, he or she should be able to rely on the benefits that they paid for—benefits intended to provide critical support during a time of great need.

“Imagine, Mr. President, that you have worked for many years, and you find that you have contracted a disease that is fatal, and that you have very little time to live. Surely, you should be able to tap into what essentially is an insurance fund set up for people in exactly that situation. But because of the five-month waiting period, there are individuals who receive no payments at all. During those five months, no payments are made, even though the disability has been confirmed by the Social Security Administration.

“This delay prevents individuals from accessing the insurance they've earned at a critical and difficult time in their life. Lack of benefits can make it more difficult to obtain timely medical treatments, cover basic living expenses, and in some cases where it's not a terminal condition, begin the process of rehabilitation toward an eventual return to work if possible. The burden of this delay can be heartbreaking. I have heard from constituents whose loved ones could get no help from SSDI when they were overtaken by a sudden and terminal diagnosis. Faced with a terrible disease that demanded every ounce of their energy and their total focus, they were forced instead to worry over their finances at the very end of their lives. This just isn't right.

“The broader disability determination process already imposes significant hardships. A 2020 Government Accountability Office report documented what can be severe consequences of the long wait times for applicants who appealed initial denials for Social Security Disability. Between Fiscal Years 2014 and 2019, approximately 48,000 individuals were forced to file for bankruptcy while awaiting a final decision on their appeals. From 2008 through 2019, an estimated nearly 110,000 people died before receiving a final decision. These heartbreaking outcomes occur even before many applicants reach the point of approval. Yet, even once they are approved, the additional five-month exclusion period compounds the suffering for those who have already proven their eligibility.

“Mr. President, Congress has already acted to address this delay in certain circumstances. In 2020 we passed the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act. It eliminated the five-month waiting period for individuals with ALS—a progressive terminal disease, where every month, every day, is critical. That bipartisan reform was the right thing to do, and I was proud to co-sponsor it. The We Can't Wait Act builds directly on that precedent.

“Under our bill, claimants would have a choice: they could either opt to begin receiving benefits immediately after approval, rather than waiting five months, in exchange for a modest actuarially sound reduction in their monthly benefit amount, or they could decide to wait the five months and receive the full amount. As the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration explains in a letter released today, this small reduction in benefits maintains the actuarial balance in the trust fund over the 75-year projection period.

“Let me emphasize that this bill makes no other changes in the SSDI program. It does not alter eligibility criteria, the determination process, although that should be speeded up, benefit levels for those who choose not to bypass the wait, or any other core element in the program. It is a precise reform that honors the contributions hardworking Americans with disabilities have made, while removing an arbitrary barrier to the benefits that they've earned and deserve.

“While this reform is carefully targeted, its impact, Mr. President, would be profound. It would end the tragic reality in which Americans with disabilities suffer, and in some cases die, during an unnecessary five-month delay after their disability has been officially certified by the Social Security Administration. This is a key point made in a letter supporting the bill by a broad coalition of organizations committed to the rights, dignity, and well-being of people with disabilities. Groups that advocate every day for those who need this relief most. The letter, which is signed by more than two dozen organizations, goes on to make the point that the five-month exclusion period is unnecessary and harms disabled Americans, who are often financially hanging on by a thread.

“Mr. President, the We Can't Wait Act is straightforward, compassionate and fiscally responsible. It would provide a crucial option to Americans who simply can't wait even five months for the benefits that they've worked for and desperately need. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this common sense and much needed legislation. Thank you, Mr. President.”

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