Ron Estes: “Many Americans who are charged with managing Social Security benefits for their elderly parents or for their children…”

“Many Americans who are charged with managing Social Security benefits for their elderly parents or for their children struggle to make the system work. I have heard stories from my communities in Kansas of the burdensome process that can be involved with the representative payee program. That is why I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4547, the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018. This important bipartisan piece of legislation reduces the burdens on families by eliminating the requirement to file an annual payee accounting form for spouses and for parents who live with their children. In addition, the bill protects the most vulnerable beneficiaries through improved information sharing between the Social Security Administration and their respective States' adult protective services, such as KDADS in Kansas. This will help identify whether a beneficiary is in foster care, reassess whether the payee is appropriate, and ensure the beneficiaries are provided for. The Social Security Administration has a great responsibility to ensure that Americans who need help managing their Social Security benefits get that help. I would like to thank Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Larson for putting this bill together that will strengthen the representative payee program so that it better protects beneficiaries and reduces burdensome government paperwork that rarely provides any real value to families.…”