Congressional Republicans today proposed heavy-handed rules that would forbid the House from considering certain legislation about Social Security. These rules would not allow the House to discuss legislation that would move funds from Social Security’s Retirement Trust Fund to the Disability Trust Fund, unless those bills also raised taxes or cut Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries. The proposed rules are being debated in the House right now until 4pm Eastern time, and a vote will be taken soon after that. Please call your Representative NOW to voice your opposition to the proposed rules.

The House’s proposed rules put millions of people who receive disability benefits at risk. Unless Congress acts by mid-2016, Social Security will only be able to pay about 80% of disability benefits; this shortfall largely occurred because of changes to America’s population and retirement age. The House rules would prohibit “clean reallocation,” a solution Congress used 11 times in the past to shift money from one trust fund to the other when shortfalls arose. Clean reallocation protects people with disabilities and does not hurt retirees or survivors. NOSSCR supports clean reallocation, as do dozens of organizations representing millions of people, including the Strengthen Social Security Coalition and the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations.

Social Security disability benefits are a lifeline for millions of Americans who worked hard and paid into the system. There are many ideas of how to preserve these benefits beyond 2016, and they deserve full discussion in the public and in Congress—not House rules that keep solutions off the table.

Contact your representative NOW to tell him or her “Please vote against the proposed House rules–I want Congress to have an open discussion about the Social Security Disability Trust Fund.”