Purple Heart recipients get a break on work penalties in disability benefits
H.R. 7120 — Purple Heart Freedom to Work Act · Filed by Austin Scott (R-GA) · 19 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 15, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill allows Purple Heart recipients who receive Social Security disability benefits to continue working and earning income without losing their benefits, subject to a modest earnings offset. Currently, disabled workers lose $1 in benefits for every $2 they earn above a threshold; this bill reduces that offset to $1 for every $4 earned, and applies a higher earnings threshold (the one used for blind beneficiaries) to Purple Heart recipients, allowing them to work more before triggering benefit reductions.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to remove a financial penalty that currently discourages Purple Heart recipients from working while receiving disability benefits. It is a targeted work-incentive reform benefiting a specific veteran population.
What the text implies
- The bill applies the higher SGA (Substantial Gainful Activity) threshold used for blind beneficiaries to Purple Heart recipients, which may indirectly expand the definition of who qualifies for this threshold in future interpretations.
- By allowing Purple Heart recipients to retain benefits while earning more, the bill may increase total Social Security outlays if a significant portion of this population returns to work; fiscal impact depends on take-up rates and earnings levels.
- The 6-month implementation delay creates a gap period during which Purple Heart recipients cannot benefit from the new rules, potentially affecting those who would otherwise begin working immediately.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Purple Heart recipients with service-connected disabilities gain the ability to work and earn substantially more income without losing benefits, reducing financial hardship and removing a work disincentive that currently traps disabled veterans in poverty. The broader public benefits from veterans' economic participation and reduced reliance on means-tested assistance.
Who stands to gain
- Purple Heart recipients with service-connected disabilities (individual veterans)
Named in the bill
Social Security Administration, Purple Heart recipients, Department of Defense, Section 223 of the Social Security Act, Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) threshold
Where it stands
19 cosponsors: 13 Republicans, 6 Democrats.
- Jan 15, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 15, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $854,387 in lobbying spend. A filing names 50 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Austin Scott, the sponsor, reported $752,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Military Officers Association of America — $854,387 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,974 characters) on Oct 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,388 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-21.
“Purple Heart recipients get a break on work penalties in disability benefits” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr7120 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.