[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5295 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5295

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide annual minimum 
and maximum cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2016

Mr. Heck of Nevada (for himself and Mr. Nolan) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide annual minimum 
and maximum cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safeguarding Economic Needs 
Important to Our Retirees through Creating an Ongoing Living Adjustment 
Guarantee (SENIOR COLA Guarantee) Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Monthly Social Security benefits for retired and 
        disabled workers and their families provide critical income and 
        security.
            (2) These benefits are generally increased annually by a 
        cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that is based on the Consumer 
        Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-
        W).
            (3) Since 1975 and until last year, a COLA has been paid in 
        every year except 2010 and 2011.
            (4) In 2015, the Social Security Administration announced 
        that due to average inflation as measured by the CPI-W, there 
        would be no COLA for seniors and beneficiaries in 2016.
            (5) American seniors, disabled workers, and their families 
        rely on their Social Security benefits and yearly COLA 
        increases to help maintain financial security.
            (6) Congress should provide certainty by guaranteeing 
        annual COLA increases for Social Security beneficiaries that 
        will help keep these beneficiaries out of poverty, and provide 
        financial security.
            (7) Congress has the power to enact a one-time COLA 
        increase in the event that inflation in a given year exceeds 
        the percentages defined in the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 3. ANNUAL MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.

    (a) Cost-of-Living Computation Quarter Defined.--Section 
215(i)(1)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)(1)(B)) is amended by 
striking ``, with respect to which the applicable increase percentage 
is greater than zero''.
    (b) Minimum and Maximum Increases.--Section 215(i)(2)(A) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)(2)(A)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (ii), by striking ``the applicable increase 
        percentage'' and inserting ``the increase percentage determined 
        under clause (iii)'';
            (2) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (iv); and
            (3) by inserting after clause (ii) the following:
    ``(iii)(I) The increase percentage determined under this clause 
shall be equal to the applicable increase percentage, except that in no 
case may the increase percentage determined under this clause--
            ``(aa) in the case of an individual with respect to whom 
        such increase applies whose adjusted gross income for the 
        preceding calendar year did not exceed $18,000 (or, in the case 
        of a joint return, $20,000), be less than 3 percent or greater 
        than 4 percent;
            ``(bb) in the case of such an individual whose adjusted 
        gross income for the preceding calendar year exceeded $18,000 
        but did not exceed $48,000 (or, in the case of a joint return, 
        $20,000 and $50,000, respectively), be less than 1.5 percent or 
        greater than 3 percent; or
            ``(cc) in the case of such an individual whose adjusted 
        gross income for the preceding calendar year exceeded $48,000 
        (or, in the case of a joint return, $50,000), be less than 1 
        percent or greater than 2 percent.
    ``(II) In this clause--
            ``(aa) the term `adjusted gross income' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 62 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986; and
            ``(bb) the term `joint return' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 6103 of such Code.
    ``(III) Not later than the end of the 5-year period beginning on 
the date of the enactment of this clause, and at the end of each 
subsequent 5-year period, the Commissioner of Social Security shall 
submit to Congress recommended changes to any of the dollar amounts in 
subclause (I) as the Commissioner considers appropriate based on 
relevant factors.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to cost-of-living computation quarters occurring in 
calendar years after 2015.
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