Community Legal Services of Phialdelphia has announced that eight former Commissioners of the Social Security Administration (SSA) have joined The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), in responding to a series recently aired on This American Life, All Things Considered, and National Public Radio (NPR) stations across the U.S. ("Unfit for Work: The Startling Rise of Disability in America").

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD)’s Social Security Task Force, co-chaired by Community Legal Services’ Rebecca Vallas, has already fact-checked and debunked the myths portrayed in the series in a letter signed by more than 120 organizations.

Now, eight former Commissioners of the Social Security Administration (SSA) have released an open letter in support of the Social Security disability programs stating, “As former Commissioners of the agency, we could not sit on the sidelines and witness this one perspective on the disability programs threaten to pull the rug out from under millions of people with severe disabilities. Drastic changes to these programs would lead to drastic consequences for some of America's most vulnerable people."

“We know firsthand the dangers of mischaracterizing the disability programs via sensational, anecdote-based media accounts, leaving vulnerable beneficiaries to pick up the pieces…We are deeply concerned that the series “Unfit for Work” failed to tell the whole story and perpetuated dangerous myths about the Social Security disability programs and the people helped by this vital system.”

The letter was signed by Kenneth S. Apfel, Michael J. Astrue, Jo Anne B. Barnhart, Shirley S. Chater, Herbert R. Doggette, Louis D. Enoff, Larry G. Massanari, and Lawrence H. Thompson.

Full Letter
Getting the Facts Straight on Social Security Disability