U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Tuesday will visit a public housing complex for seniors and people with disabilities where she will call on the Social Security Administration to end unacceptable delays in processing disability applications.
The Tucson lawmaker will be accompanied by constituents whose lives have been impacted by what a recent national television news report called the administration's "culture to deny." In some cases, the wait for a claim to be processed can take almost two years, resulting in serious financial and emotional hardships.
Since taking office in January 2007, Giffords' staff has opened 45 cases for constituents caught up in the disability appeals process. Claimants have paid into the Social Security system for decades in the expectation that the system would be there for them if they could no longer work due to disability.
WHAT: U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords visits Craycroft Towers public housing complex to urge the Social Security Administration to address delays in processing disability applications
WHEN: 11 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 19
WHERE: Community Room, Craycroft Towers, 1635 N. Craycroft
BACKGROUND: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/14/cbsnews_investigates/main3712627.shtml and http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/15/cbsnews_investigates/main3718129.shtml