The 11 million people who receive Social Security disability face steep benefit cuts next year — unless Congress acts, the government said Wednesday.
The trustees that oversee Social Security said the disability trust fund will run out of money in late 2016, right in the middle of a presidential campaign. That would trigger an automatic 19 percent cut in benefits.
The report said the fund faces "an urgent threat" that requires prompt action by Congress.
There is an easy fix available: Congress could shift tax revenue from Social Security's much larger retirement fund, as it has done in the past.
President Barack Obama supports the move. But Republicans say they want changes in the program to reduce fraud and to encourage disabled workers to re-enter the work force.
The date that the fund will be exhausted is unchanged from last year's report. But as the deadline gets closer, advocates say the need to act becomes more urgent.
The average monthly benefit for disabled workers and their families is $1,017. That means the typical beneficiary would see their benefits reduced by $193 a month.
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