Officials back rule to cut SSI benefits for recipients with Down syndrome, dementia and other disabilities Published April 29, 2026 6:00AM (EDT) Frank Bisignano, commissioner of the Social Security Administration. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) This article originally appeared on ProPublica . Even a glance at Shy’tyra Burton’s life reveals her need for the sort of federal government assistance that helps disabled Americans stay in their homes. Born two months prematurely into a poor family in Philadelphia, unable to breathe or swallow without tubes and largely confined to medical facilities until age 4, Burton was diagnosed with a litany of developmental and intellectual disabilities that left her with an IQ below 70. She persevered and graduated from a high school special education program, then attempted community college. But she struggled to grasp basic tasks and information. She couldn’t get hired, including at McDonald’s.…