[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 82 (Thursday, June 6, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5946-S5947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______


               THE SOCIAL SECURITY FAMILY PROTECTION ACT

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague 
and friend the Senator from Maryland, Senator Mikulski, in introducing 
legislation to correct an inequity that exists in our Social Security 
system.
  The Social Security Family Protection Act that we are introducing 
today expands upon legislation I have introduced since 1992 which calls 
for the prorating of Social Security benefits in the month in which the 
recipient dies. Currently when a Social Security beneficiary dies--
regardless of whether it is the first day of the month or the 29th day 
of the month, his or her last monthly benefit check must be returned to 
the Social Security Administration. The current system ignores the fact 
that the beneficiary runs up expenses during that last month and that 
the survivors are left to pay for those expenses, without the 
assistance of the Social Security check. In many cases, the loss of 
this benefit causes serious financial problems for the surviving family 
members because they are unable to financially subsidize the expenses 
accrued by the late beneficiary in their last month of life.
  My original legislation prorates the Social Security benefit based on 
the date of death and allows the check to go to the surviving spouse. 
Under the Social Security Family Protection Act, the beneficiary's 
check will be prorated and it will go to the surviving family members. 
Under the prorated system in the bill, if the beneficiary dies before 
the 15th, the family will receive 50 percent of the benefit, if the 
beneficiary dies after the 15th, the family will receive the entire 
check. The expansion of this bill is based on Senator Mikulski's own 
family experience with Social Security after her widowed mother died, 
at the end of the month.
  The Social Security Family Protection Act will correct the 
inappropriate assumption in current law that a beneficiary has not 
incurred expenses during his or her last month of life. I know that my 
colleagues have heard, as have Senator Mikulski and I, from 
constituents who have lost a husband or wife, father or mother toward 
the end of the month, received the Social Security check and spent all 
or part of it to pay the bills only to receive a notice from Social 
Security that the check must be returned. Under our bill, the surviving 
family members--whether it is a spouse, a son, or a niece--would be 
able to use the check to help pay the final bills incurred by their 
loved one.
  I would like to read a part of a letter I received from a constituent 
about the experience of his family when his brother-in-law died. This 
letter, along with Senator Mikulski's own experience, serves to 
highlight why this bill is necessary.

       On February 29, 1996 at 9:20 p.m. He passed away. The way I 
     figure it, the month of Feb. has 696 hours in it. He was 
     alive for 693 hrs and 20 min. of the month, missing a full 
     month by 2 hours and 40 min. Or to put it another way, he was 
     alive for 99.99617 percent of the month missing a full month 
     by 0.0038314 percent. With this evidence in hand, the SSA 
     then decided that his check for the month of Feb. had to be 
     returned to them. Unfortunately, his debts for the month 
     didn't disappear just because he failed to live the extra 
     0.0038314 percent of the month.
       And since they waited till April to let anyone know of this 
     policy, we paid his out-

[[Page S5947]]

      standing bills with this money. Now they want their money 
     back. . .. I really don't expect to see this resolved to my 
     benefit, but it would be nice to see some kind of pro-rating 
     system put into place for the rest of the people who are 
     going to encounter this ghoulish practice. These people have, 
     at this time, no recourse what-so-ever in this matter.

  I know that my colleagues have all received letters like this. For 
many of these people that Social Security check is the only financial 
resource available to deal with the costs incurred during their loved 
one's last days of life. Without it, they are left struggling to find 
the money to pay back the Social Security Administration.
  I believe that pro-rating Social Security checks for the month of 
death provides a solution to what is an unfair situation and I hope my 
colleagues will join us in supporting this bill.

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