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Phone: 202/347-8600

Fax: 202/393-6137

E-mail: kids1st@aap.org

Executive Committee

President

Sandra G. Hassink, MD, FAAP

President-Elect

Benard P. Dreyer, MD, FAAP

Immediate Past President

James M. Perrin, MD, FAAP

Executive Director/CEO

Errol R. Alden, MD, FAAP

Board of Directors

District I

Carole E. Allen, MD, FAAP

Arlington, MA

District II

Danielle Laraque, MD, FAAP

Brooklyn, NY

District III

David I. Bromberg, MD, FAAP

Frederick, MD

District IV

Jane M. Foy, MD, FAAP

Winston Salem, NC

District V

Richard H. Tuck, MD, FAAP

Zanesville, OH

District VI

Pamela K. Shaw, MD, FAAP

Kansas City, KS

District VII

Anthony D. Johnson, MD, FAAP

Little Rock, AR

District VIII

Kyle Yasuda, MD, FAAP

Seattle, WA

District IX

Stuart A. Cohen, MD, MPH, FAAP

San Diego, CA

District X

Sara H. Goza, MD, FAAP

Fayetteville, GA

The Honorable Orrin Hatch The Honorable Ron Wyden

Chairman Ranking Member

Committee on Finance Committee on Finance

104 Hart Senate Office Building 221 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Dean Heller The Honorable Sherrod Brown

Chairman Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Social Security, Subcommittee on Social Security,

Pensions and Family Policy Pensions and Family Policy

Committee on Finance Committee on Finance

324 Hart Senate Office Building 713 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairmen Hatch and Heller, and Ranking Members Wyden and Brown:

On behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a non-profit professional

organization of more than 62,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical

subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety, and well-

being of all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults, I am writing to emphasize the

importance of maintaining the Social Security programs that many children and families

rely on to meet their basic needs.

Social Security was initially established as retirement security for America’s workers.

Though Social Security is often thought of as a program intended for the elderly, the

program has a diverse group of beneficiaries who rely on these benefits to meet their basic

needs. The AAP urges Congress to remember that children, too, have a stake in Social

Security.

Social Security in the form of Old Age and Survivor’s Insurance (OASI), Disability

Insurance (DI), Unemployment Insurance (UI), workers’ compensation, and Supplemental

Security Income (SSI), reaches more children and families than Temporary Assistance for

Needy Families (TANF). About 6.8 million children benefit from Social Security; half of

them directly because a parent has died, become disabled or retired, and the other half

because they live with a relative who is eligible to collect benefits. Children are eligible to

collect these benefits until they are 18 years old, or 19 years old if they are still in high

school.1 Additionally, about 1.3 million children with disabilities receive benefits through

SSI.2

In 2013, more than 45 million people, or 14.5%, of people in the United States lived in

poverty.3 As staggering as this number is, 1 in 5 children, or 20%, live in poverty today,

and nearly half of all children live in low income households.4 It is clear that across the

country, families are having a difficult time making ends meet. Children who live in

poverty experience disproportionate health issues including increased rates of asthma,

obesity, dental caries, injuries, mental health diagnosis, adolescent H.I.V. infections and

tobacco exposure.5

Additionally, children living in poverty are exposed to undue amounts of stress in their lives, which leads

to depression, anxiety, and other emotional hardships. Children living in poverty are more likely to

experience inequities in access to healthcare, and as a result are at a higher risk for acute and chronic

illness. Finally, most children in poverty live in food insecure homes, meaning that they are not receiving

proper nutrition. Without proper nutrition, children’s brains and bodies do not develop properly and they

do not perform as well in school.

All of these factors negatively impact a child’s development and set them on a course for unhealthy and

hardship-filled lives. Without Social Security programs, an additional 25.4 million people would be

impoverished, including about 1.9 million children.6 Social Security is also actively lifting some families

out of poverty. In 2013, Social Security lifted more than 22.1 million people out of poverty, 1.2 million of

whom were children.7

Children with disabilities who receive SSI also have a very clear stake in ensuring that benefits remain

strong because they are not only living in low-income households, but they are also living with a

disability. Families who are caring for children with disabilities have additional financial burdens than

those who do not, and it has been demonstrated that these families also often have other forms of

economic insecurity. One study found that at every income level, families of children with disabilities

experience more food and housing insecurity than other families.8 SSI benefits are modest in amount,

averaging $654 per month for children.9 Though these benefits are by no means large, SSI increases total

household income by about 20%, and decreases families’ likelihood of living below the poverty line by

about 11%.10 Additionally, after receiving SSI, families are also less likely to receive benefits from the

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for

Women Infants and Children (WIC), and TANF.

We urge Congress to take into account children’s stake in Social Security. Though they may not always

be the direct beneficiaries of these programs, benefit cuts hurt our most vulnerable children who live in

the poorest households. It is important to always remember the impact that cuts may have on children,

even if the intent is to cut benefits to the adult.

The AAP is focused on meeting three of every child’s most basic needs: sound nutrition, nurturing

relationships, and safe environments. There are many ways Congress can help meet children’s needs and

protect their health and well-being. Social Security is one of them. If the AAP can be of any further

assistance, please contact Allyson Perleoni in our Washington, D.C. office at 202/347-8600 or

aperleoni@aap.org.

Sincerely,

Sandra G. Hassink, MD, FAAP

President

SGH/arp

1 National Academy of Social Insurance, “Children’s Stake in Social Security,”

http://www.nasi.org/learn/socialsecurity/childrens-stake. 2 Fremstad, Shawn and Rebecca Vallas, “Supplemental Security Income for Children with Disabilities.” Social

Security Brief, No. 40 (2012): http://www.nasi.org/research/2012/supplemental-security-income-children-

disabilities. 3 U.S. Census Bureau, “Poverty2013 Highlights,” (March 2015),

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/index.html. 4 American Academy of Pediatrics, “AAP Agenda for Children Strategic Plan Poverty and Child Health,” (March

2015), https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-facts/AAP-Agenda-for-Children-Strategic-Plan/Pages/AAP-

Agenda-for-Children-Strategic-Plan-Poverty-Child-Health.aspx. 5 Hassink, Sandra G., “Child Health and Poverty,” New York Times, January 30, 2015,

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/30/opinion/child-health-and-poverty.html. 6 Walker, Elisa, “25 Million Reasons to Give Thanks for Social Insurance,” National Academy of Social Insurance,

November 21, 2014, http://www.nasi.org/discuss/2014/11/25-million-reasons-give-thanks-social-insurance. 7 Ibid. 8 Parish, Susan L., et al. “Material Hardships in U.S. Families Raising Children with Disabilities.” Exceptional

Children, Vol. 75, No. 1 (2008):71-92. 9 Social Security Administration, “Monthly Statistical Snapshot for January 2015” (March 2015),

http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/2015-01.pdf. 10 Duggan, Mark, and Melissa Schettini Kearney, “The Impact of Child SSI Enrollment on Household Outcomes,”

Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 26, No. 4 (2007): 861-885.