•     "We're here talking about disability benefits and social security. We have yet to take up anything on social security in this committee that will directly benefit the people that were sworn to serve in every single one of our districts. This is neither Democrat or Republican. It's about the American people. And however well-intended the notions may be with this bill, and I do believe that my colleagues on the other side are both well-intended and good people but it's not an excuse for not facing the reality that the social security trust fund will soon report again with 10,000 baby boomers a day becoming eligible that Congress stands idle and does nothing to help these people… 30,000 people with disabilities die waiting to get their benefits annually. 30,000 die annually waiting to get their benefits. And this is the best the Ways and Means Committee can do? Come on. You're better than that. All of us. America deserves better than this. This amendment is nothing but another way to say, "Oh, we're working on this and trying to do something about Social Security disability." When 30,000 people are going to die? You're better people than that. This is why this issue needs to be addressed and needs to be taken up now. Not only are 10,000 baby boomers a day become eligible, but for 40 million Americans, this is the only benefit that they have. And yet this committee, the committee of cognizance, the committee that can do this and deliver for the American people, all people, not Democrats, Republicans, or unaffiliates, but all the people who have contributed to the nation's number one anti-poverty program for the elderly and for children and the disability that more veterans rely on and we're turned away. And this is all we have to offer in this committee? You're good people. You know that this is wrong. You know that we have to

address this issue. This amendment doesn't do that, and I urge a no vote." Source: Rep. John Larson (Democrat, Connecticut, District 1)

•     "I oppose HR 8884 because it undoubtedly would give the Trump administration widespread authority to cut the earned benefits of workers who qualify for the Social Security Disability Insurance Program or SSDI. The first Trump administration repeatedly proposed massive cuts to Social Security disability benefits. His plans included stripping away benefits from older, severely disabled workers by making it harder to qualify for benefits, throwing disabled people off benefits. Disabled people, older people, people having difficulty, subjecting them to more frequent continuing disability refuse, just to name a few of the issues and problems. Alarmingly, President Trump's budget proposed using SSA's demonstration authorities to slash disability benefits by approximately $50 billion over a 10-year period… Just last year, the Trump administration proposed a rule, a rule that would exact deep cuts to SSDI, particularly for older workers. SSDI provides essential benefits to workers who cannot support themselves due to severe and long-lasting disabilities that hurt their ability to work. Now, my Republican colleagues want to grant the Trump administration the very demonstration authority to gut SSDI that Trump has been begging for. And just to further exacerbate the Trump created customer service crisis at SSA, this Republican bill would strip millions from SSA's operating funds to pay for it. So, let's not be fooled by the bill's hollow protections of not reducing an individual's income. This deceptive phrasing totally would allow benefit cuts, likely by forcing disabled workers to continue working and failing to give protections to new SSDI applicants. Trump administration has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to harm the elderly, the disabled, and the poor. Rather than standing up for social security beneficiaries, the Republicans in the committee are advancing a bill to limit the earned benefits of workers with severe disabilities while allowing the Trump administration, Trump and his billionaire buddies to get wealthier at taxpayers' expense. I say no to this bill and urge my colleagues to reject this harmful bill that severely restricts the most disabled people. Rep. Daniel Davis (Democrat, Illinois, District 7)