Congress·In Committee·H.R. 6724

Protecting Supplemental Security Income for Disaster Victims Act

SSI Benefits: Protecting Disaster Settlement Money

3 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill was recently introduced and is currently sitting in the House Committee on Ways and Means for review. It is in the early stages of the lawmaking process and has not yet been scheduled for a vote. There are no companion bills at this time.

Legislative Progress

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Key Points

This bill stops the government from counting legal settlement money as income for people who receive Supplemental Security Income. This means if someone gets money for a personal injury or property damage, they will not lose their monthly SSI checks.
The plan specifically protects people affected by the East Palestine train derailment. It ensures that any money they received from that legal settlement does not count against the strict income and savings limits required to stay on SSI.
Under current rules, people on SSI can only have a very small amount of money before they lose their benefits. This bill changes the law so that disaster victims do not have to choose between taking a settlement and keeping their basic government support.
The new rules would apply to future settlements and would also work backward for the East Palestine case. This helps people who may have already received payments and are worried about their benefits being cut or stopped.