Things to know about Social Security's disability crisis

WASHINGTON (AP) — The 11 million Americans who receive Social Security disability face steep benefit cuts next year — right in the middle of a presidential election — unless Congress acts.

Social Security's trustees say the disability trust fund will run out of money in late 2016. That would trigger an automatic 19 percent cut in benefits.

There is an easy fix available, but Republicans in Congress are resisting.

GOP lawmakers see the funding crisis as an opportunity to improve a program that they believe is plagued by waste and abuse. Democrats are much more defensive about the program, noting that its modest benefits keep millions of disabled workers and their families out of poverty.