Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. testimony to the Subcommittee on Social Security, March 22, 2000

TESTIMONY OF HONORABLE ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR. SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOCIAL SECURITY WORK INCENTIVES FOR BLIND AND DISABLED SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFICIARIES MARCH 22, 2000 Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee. I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about eliminating a work disincentive for blind Americans. As many of you know, I have repeatedly introduced and pushed for passage of legislation to restore work incentives for the blind. Last year I introduced H.R. 1601, the Blind Empowerment Act (BEA). This bipartisan bill has more than 280 co-sponsors. This legislation could positively impact as many as a quarter million blind Americans. For nearly twenty years, the blind and senior citizens were linked for the purposes of the Social Security Earnings Test. In 1996, this historic link