[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 173 (Tuesday, December 1, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8218-S8219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SENIORS AND VETERANS EMERGENCY BENEFITS ACT

  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to talk about a 
piece of legislation that a number of us have filed. There will be 
several Senators speaking here later this afternoon about the Seniors 
And Veterans Emergency Benefits Act. It is a very important piece of 
legislation to help millions of Americans who depend on Social Security 
benefits to make ends meet. I want to emphasize that point. Much of the 
American population does not realize that there are senior citizens 
whose sole existence depends on the check they get from Social 
Security. Unfortunately, we have seniors who are facing the situation 
that the price of food or some of their medicine unexpectedly goes up. 
How could this be, in America in the year 2015? But it happens among 
some of our senior citizens. In the last Congress I had the privilege 
of chairing the Special Committee on Aging. We held a number of 
hearings on this issue. It will break your heart, but that is going on 
today.
  To add a little more drama and heartache to this, in October the 
Social Security Administration announced that for the third time in the 
past 40 years, there will not be a cost-of-living adjustment for 2016. 
That is under a formula, and it is legal. Since 1975, the cost-of-
living adjustment has ensured that the purchasing power of the Social 
Security benefits stays the same, regardless of rising prices or 
inflation. When we get to a point that the formula says no cost-of-
living adjustment for a senior citizen, that becomes a fairly big deal 
because 65 percent of all senior citizens depend on Social Security to 
provide the majority of their cash income. It is real money that they 
depend on to help make the basic expenses.
  In my State, we have a higher percentage of the population who are 
senior citizens--4 million Floridians that are categorized as senior 
citizens because of their age. When there is not an adjustment on the 
cost-of-living adjustment, these folks are starting to feel the squeeze 
and are forced to sacrifice on something.
  What a group of Senators are going to talk about and what I am 
sharing is that we are going to offer an opportunity to act before this 
no cost-of-living increase would take effect in January because 20 of 
us have sponsored legislation introduced by Senator Warren to fix the 
fact that there is a lack of a cost-of-living adjustment. I am glad to 
see that Senator Warren is here. I could not join the distinguished 
Senator later on, so I took the liberty of going ahead and telling from 
my point of view how this legislation is going to give to about 70 
million Americans a one-time payment of approximately $580 to help them 
have money for the basic needs, such as food or rent.
  Nearly 4.5 million people in Florida--a little less than a quarter of 
the State's population--would be eligible for that lump sum payment. 
Nine million veterans who receive Social Security benefits would 
receive a benefit under the bill. In my State, 323,000 veterans and 
their family members would get that benefit.
  Forty percent of the seniors in the United States have incomes below 
the poverty line if they do not have Social Security assistance. That 
is a shocking statement. Let me say that again. Forty percent of our 
senior citizens in this country would have incomes below the poverty 
line if they did not have Social Security assistance. Therefore, this 
legislation that we are filing would lift over 1 million people out of 
poverty.
  To some, a benefit of $580 may seem insignificant, but in reality, it 
is going to make a difference to millions. It may not seem like a big 
deal to a lot of people that there is no COLA, but if that senior 
citizen does not have the money to pay for the rent, a utility bill, a 
trip to the doctor or the groceries they need for their nutrition, that 
$580 is the difference.
  Many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and are forced to make

[[Page S8219]]

these tough decisions. We ought to be making it easier for them. That 
is our job. There are no excuses. I intend to work with our colleagues 
to see if this is a possibility.
  While Senator Warren is here, I wish to engage the Senator from 
Massachusetts and yield to her for an answer. As we sat on the Special 
Committee on Aging, we heard the testimony of how dire, on the line, 
and on the razor's edge the income is for senior citizens with these 
Social Security benefits. When that does not keep up with the cost of 
living--surely there is a cost-of-living increase in one year over the 
other, but if their Social Security checks don't reflect that, does 
that not invite a tremendous hardship on that elderly person?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, the answer is yes, it does. Senator Nelson 
has put his finger on a very serious problem; that is, every year 
because of policies made here in the Senate, we do a calculation of 
cost-of-living changes for Social Security. The problem is that 
calculation for cost-of-living changes is based on only about one-
quarter of the population. It is not based on the whole population, and 
it is certainly not based just on those who receive Social Security.
  We know from independent analysis that costs have gone up for 
seniors, but because of the policies made here in Congress, there will 
be no cost-of-living increase for seniors this year. That means they 
face high costs. Yet, at the same time, they are going to have a flat 
income.
  The proposal here to give them a one-time payment of about $581 is 
enough to pay 3 months' worth of food bills for the average senior. It 
is enough to help cover the costs of prescription drugs that are not 
covered by Medicare. These are significant differences for seniors who 
most need it, and I appreciate Senator Nelson coming here early to talk 
about and raise this important issue. He is exactly spot on about the 
difficulty with this issue.

  I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator from Florida has 
expired.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for an additional 
30 seconds.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. NELSON. Therefore, I conclude by resting the case. If the cost of 
every person's daily living is in fact going up and yet our formula 
shows that they get no cost-of-living adjustment, is that not putting a 
burden upon the ones who we should be respecting and protecting that 
should not be there? We can do that with this legislation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.

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