Bills Hit Congress to Help Senior Citizens Deal with
Lack of Social Security COLA in 2010
Proposal by Democrats Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep.
Peter DeFazio getting most of the attention
Sen. Bernie Sanders
talks on the Senate floor in support of his legislation which
would add an emergency benefit to senior citizens who will not
see a cost-of-living adjustment in their Social Security checks
this year for the first time since 1975.
Sept. 24, 2009 – Although it has been obvious for
months that senior citizens were not going to get a cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA) in their Social Security checks for 2010, due to the
recession and high gasoline prices that hit last year, members of
Congress are now jumping on the bandwagon to do something about it. At
least four new bills in the House and one in the Senate propose
providing some increase in benefits to seniors.
The first one offered was introduced on September 8
by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). Her legislation that would provide a
one-time payment of $150 to each Social Security beneficiary in 2010 has
been swamped by more generous offers that have followed.
Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La) dropped his bill in
the hopper on September 15 - the Cost of Living Adjustment Assistance
Act of 2009 - which would provide seniors a 2.9 percent increase in
2010. The average retiree benefit is $1,153 monthly in 2009, which would
mean the average monthly increase in 2010 under the Alexander bill would
be about $34.66 per month, or $415.92 for the year.
“Although the annual adjustment is a small
increase, it is a much-needed benefit for our nation’s seniors to help
them compensate for inflation and to sustain the skyrocketing prices of
health care and prescription drugs,” said Rep. Alexander.
Following right behind Rep. Alexander on September
17 was his fellow Republican, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) with
H.R.3557, which would give the average beneficiary an additional
$415.20 in Social Security payments in 2010, a boost of $34.60 per
month.
The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), which claims to
be the first national group to call for an Emergency COLA for 2010, also
says this bill – the Emergency COLA Bill (H.R. 3557) – was “encouraged
and promoted by TSCL from the beginning.”
The bill would provide a COLA for 2010 equal to the
average of the COLA over the past ten years. That average is roughly
three percent.
Since automatic Cost of Living Adjustments went
into effect in 1975, seniors have never before failed to get an
increase, according to the TSCL. Almost 70 percent of beneficiaries
depend on Social Security for 50 percent or more of their income. Social
Security is the sole source of income for 15 percent of beneficiaries.
“Without an Emergency COLA, millions of seniors
will receive cuts due to the soaring costs of prescription drug plans,
which many beneficiaries have automatically deducted from Social
Security checks,” the group adds.
Drawing the most attention is been the Emergency
Senior Citizens Relief Act, because it has a sponsor in the Senate, Sen.
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and one in the House, Rep. Peter DeFazio
(D-Ore.). It also is more likely get gain favorable consideration
because there are more Congressional Democrats.
Their bill, too, is rather novel and simple – it
calls for each Social Security recipient to receive a one-time payment
in 2010 of $250.00.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter DeFazio
(D-Ore.) today introduced legislation to provide Social Security
recipients an extra one-time payment next year of $250. Without the
legislation, millions of seniors will see their Social Security checks
shrink because – for the first time since 1975 – there will be no
cost-of-living adjustment.
Sanders points out, “Unless Congress passes the
Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act, Social Security monthly benefits
would drop because the cost of Medicare prescription drug premiums,
which are deducted from Social Security payments, are scheduled to
increase.”
Sanders said millions of senior citizens are
especially hard hit by the recession. “Many have seen their savings
disappear, their pension funds severely decline and the value of their
homes dramatically diminish – all while poverty among seniors has gone
up, as has the number of seniors declaring bankruptcy. Seniors deserve a
fair increase in benefits to keep up with these added costs and economic
hardships.” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) cosponsored Sanders’ bill.
DeFazio said too many seniors are experiencing a
decline in their living standards. “Failure to provide a cost-of-living
increase for seniors could not come at a worse time. It would simply be
unacceptable for seniors on fixed incomes to not receive the help they
deserve to keep up with increased prices seniors pay for prescription
drugs and medical care.”
To pay for the benefits boost, the legislation
Sanders introduced in the Senate and DeFazio offered in the House of
Representatives would apply the Social Security payroll tax on household
incomes above $250,000 and below $359,000 in 2010.
Under current law, only the first $106,800 of
earned income is subject to the payroll tax. A worker earning $106,800
pays the same payroll tax as a CEO who makes millions of dollars a year.
Their legislation begins to correct that inequity in 2010, while making
sure that seniors receive a fair increase in benefits next year.
No one earning $250,000 or less would see their
taxes go up under the Sanders and DeFazio bills.
About 50 million senior citizens and disabled
younger Americans receive Social Security benefits. The COLA for this
year was a 5.8 percent increase, the largest since 1982.
Background information
With 1.2 million supporters, The Senior Citizens
League claims to be one of the nation’s largest nonpartisan seniors
groups. Its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to
educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as
U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens
have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a “proud
affiliate” of The Retired Enlisted Association. Visit
www.SeniorsLeague.org for more information.
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boomers
2009 COLA was a real gain for seniors because there
are inflation factors working in their favor