Conferences & Events

Disability Policy for the 21st Century

Thursday, June 6, 2019

9:00 am – 10:30 am

Liaison Washington Capitol Hill

415 New Jersey Ave. NW Washington, DC 20001

Strong labor markets and recent improvements to the finances of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program offer a rare opportunity to test or adopt new ideas to improve opportunities for workers with disabilities.



The McCrery-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Initiative hosted this event with some of the nation’s top disability experts and policymakers, including a conversation with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and a video message from Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John Larson (D-CT). The discussion focused on recent legislative and administrative actions along with new proposals to improve disability policy in America

Agenda

Event Recap

8:30 am - 9:00 am Continental Breakfast
9:00 am - 9:10 am Welcome and Opening Remarks by Former Congressmen and Initiative Co-Chairs Jim McCrery & Earl Pomeroy
9:10 am - 10:10 am Panel Discussion

Moderator: Marc Goldwein, Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Jason Fichtner, Johns Hopkins University and Initiative Author

David Stapleton, Initiative Author

TJ Sutcliffe, House Committee on Ways and Means, Social Security Subcommittee

Jamie Wilson, Office of Management and Budget
10:10 am - 10:15 am Video Message by House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT)
10:15 am - 10:30 am Conversation with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Senate Finance Social Security Subcommittee Member

 


The McCrery-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Initiative Unveils Project's Recommendations

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

9:00 am – 11:00 am

Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill 

Capitol Room (Lobby Level) 

400 New Jersey Ave. NW Washington, DC 20001

Agenda

8:30 am - 9:00 am Continental Breakfast
9:00 am - 9:10 am Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:10 am - 9:45 am Remarks by Former Congressmen and Initiative Co-Chairs Jim McCrery & Earl Pomeroy
9:45 am - 10:10 am

Keynote Presentation

Henry Aaron: Chairman, Social Security Advisory Board

10:10 am - 11:00 am Panel Discussion

Moderator: Paul Krawzak, CQ Roll Call

Romina Boccia: Deputy Director and Grover M. Hermann Research Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs, The Heritage Foundation

Marc Goldwein: Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Kathleen Romig: Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Art Spencer: Retired Associate Commissioner, Social Security Administration

Jennifer Dexter: Assistant Vice President for Government Relations, Easterseals

 


McCrery-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Conference

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

8:45 am – 5:00 pm

District Architecture Center

421 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20004

Next year the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) trust fund will deplete its reserves, prompting a discussion in Washington about how to improve the program. The McCrery-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Initiative seeks to provide policymakers with a menu of innovative ideas to improve the SSDI program and other services for people with disabilities.

The SSDI Solutions Conference featured presentations of numerous policy proposals selected by the McCrery-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Initiative and brought together experts, advocates, policymakers and interested stakeholders for an engaged dialogue about how SSDI and other programs can better serve those with disabilities, taxpayers and society as a whole.

Conference Program

 

Conference Agenda 

Presentation Slides Available in PDF next to their respective paper when applicable

 

8:00 am - 8:45 am Continental Breakfast and Registration
8:45 am - 9:00 am Welcome and Opening Remarks by Congressmen McCrery and Pomeroy
9:00 am - 9:15 am Remarks by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
9:15 am - 10:30 am Panel One: Early Intervention and Work Support

Discussant: Lisa Ekman, Ekman Advocates for Progress, LLC



Papers discussed:

Ben-Shalom, Mann, and Stapleton – Integrated employment support and eligibility determination system (Presentation)

Christian, Burton, and Wickizer – Expanding community-focused work and health services (Presentation)

Kerksick, Riemer, and Williams – Using transitional jobs and tax incentives to encourage employment (Presentation)
10:45 am - 12:00 pm Panel Two: Structural Reforms

Discussant: Art Spencer, Former Associate Commissioner for Disability Programs, Social Security Administration (Presentation)



Papers discussed:

Hildred, Mazerski, Krent, and Christian – Transitional benefits for a small subset of SSDI beneficiaries with disabilities likely to experience medical improvement (Presentation)

Fichtner and Seligman – A system for partial disability benefits (Presentation)

Jacobson, Butz, Aaron, and Aghabi – Exploring alternative definitions of disability (Presentation)

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch and Remarks by Bob Greenstein, President, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
1:00 pm - 2:15 pm

Panel Three: Determination and Adjudication Reform

Discussant: Margaret Malone, Former Staff Director, Social Security Advisory Board



Papers discussed:

Collins, Constantin, Porcino, and Zhou – Reducing CDR backlogs (Presentation)

Dubin – Streamlining the determination process (Presentation)

Engel, Glendening, and Wolfe – Exploring changes to the SSDI adjudication process (Presentation)

2:30 pm - 3:45 pm

Panel Four: Interaction with other programs

Discussant: David Wittenburg, Director of Health Research, Mathematica Policy Research



Papers discussed:

Babbel and Meyer – Encouraging enrollment in private disability insurance (Presentation)

Burton and Guo – Improving the interaction between SSDI and Workers’ Compensation programs (Presentation)

Perriello – Improving health coverage for workers with disabilities

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Closing Panel Discussion

Moderator: Paul Krawzak, CQ Roll Call



Participants:

Jim McCrery

Earl Pomeroy

Mark Warshawsky, Former Member, Social Security Advisory Board

Alan Cohen, Member, Social Security Advisory Board

5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Closing reception