Doris Matsui: “Today, we have before us the Social Security Protection Act. This legislation was developed over several years in…”

“Today, we have before us the Social Security Protection Act. This legislation was developed over several years in conjunction with the Social Security Administration, its Inspector General, beneficiary representatives and others. The bill reflects a preconference agreement negotiated with the other body on a bipartisan basis and is supported by the Consortium for Seniors With Disabilities, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the Association of Administrative Law Judges, the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives and others. I would like to take a few moments to highlight several items in this bill. The first deals with representative payees. Nearly 8 million Social Security and SSI beneficiaries who are unable to manage their own benefits have representative payees, including children, the mentally impaired and the very frail elderly. Most payees work hard to ensure that the benefits are spent to meet the beneficiary's needs. However, in some instances SSA's screening process for determining who should serve as a payee has failed to prevent the misuse of these benefits. This legislation gives SSA the tools it needs to reissue benefits that are misused. It provides for penalties for those who would take advantage of some of our most vulnerable citizens. It also strengthens Social Security's oversight of these payees.”