[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 72 (Thursday, April 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2618-S2619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Warren, Mr.
Whitehouse, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Nelson):
S. 959. A bill to restore protections for Social Security, Railroad
retirement, and Black Lung benefits from administrative offset; to the
Committee on Finance.
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President. Every day, Social Security provides vital
benefits to millions of Americans who worked and paid into the system.
To ensure workers would receive full access to these fundamental
lifeline benefits, for many years, the law protected these earned
benefits from attempts to recover debts. However, 20 years ago,
Congress suddenly reversed course, and made a change to the law that
allowed the government to cut Social Security and other hard-earned
benefit payments in order to collect student loan and other federal
debts, like home loans owed to the Veterans Administration, and food
stamp overpayments. Now, more and more seniors are finding themselves
subject to government garnishment of their already modest Social
Security benefits in order to recoup student loan debts. In fact, the
New York Times published an editorial recently titled, ``Haunted by
Student Debt Past Age 50'' that highlighted the worsening struggle that
seniors face with student debt.
Student loan debt is becoming an increasingly serious problem in
Oregon and across the Nation, with students and their families burdened
by crushing student loan debt. Even in the best circumstances, many
families will struggle to pay off crippling loans for years to come.
However, for people who rely on benefits like Social Security after
retirement, disability, or the death of a family member, making
payments on student loans or other Federal debts can become an
insurmountable hardship.
Because of the lifeline nature of these earned benefits, for more
than 40 years the law prevented all creditors from collecting hard-
earned Social Security, railroad retirement, and black lung benefits to
recoup debts. The only exceptions included unpaid Federal taxes, child
support or alimony payments, and court-ordered victim restitution.
These protections helped ensure that our social safety net programs
were functioning as intended--something I think we can all agree is
essential to preserving Social Security and other earned benefits.
Astonishingly, when the law changed as part of a 1996 omnibus budget
bill, these changes were never fully debated in Congress. This means
Members of Congress never had the chance to really explore how this
policy would affect beneficiaries. The legislation ultimately included
some protections for the most vulnerable, but even those protections
have not been updated in 20 years.
We now realize what a profound effect the loss of these protections
has had on retirees and individuals with disabilities, who often live
on fixed incomes. More and more seniors and people with disabilities
are having their Social Security and other lifeline benefits taken away
to pay federal debts. For example, according to a GAO report, in 2004,
about 8,000 seniors were living in poverty after having their benefits
garnished to recover a student debt. In 2015, over 67,000 seniors were
subject to garnishment for a student debt and living in poverty.
Congress should restore sanity to the system, and reestablish the
protections that these beneficiaries deserve.
That is why I, along with Senators Brown, Merkley, Feinstein, Hirono,
Schatz, Leahy, Nelson, Whitehouse, Gillibrand, Sanders, and Warren are
reintroducing the Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration
Act. The bill would restore the strong protections in the law that
prevented the government from taking away earned benefits to pay
federal debts, and guarantee beneficiaries will be able to maintain a
basic standard of living by receiving the benefits they have earned.
The bill is supported by Social Security Works, the Arc of the United
States, Latinos for a Secure Retirement, Puget Sound Advocates for
Retirement Action, PSARA, AFL-CIO, the Economic Opportunity Institute,
the National Organization for Women, Justice in Aging, Gray Panthers
NYC, Alliance for Retired Americans, the National Committee to Preserve
Social Security and Medicare, Global Policy Solutions, AARP, the
American Federation of Government Employees, and the International
Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of
America, UAW.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 959
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 ``Protection of Social
Security Benefits Restoration Act''.
SEC. 2. PROTECTING SOCIAL SECURITY, RAILROAD RETIREMENT, AND
BLACK LUNG BENEFITS FROM ADMINISTRATIVE OFFSET.
(a) Prohibition on Administrative Offset Authority.--
(1) Assignment under social security act.--Section 207 of
the Social Security Act
[[Page S2619]]
(42 U.S.C. 407) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
``(d) Subparagraphs (A), (C), and (D) of section 3716(c)(3)
of title 31, United States Code, as such subparagraphs were
in effect on the date before the date of enactment of the
Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration Act, shall
be null and void and of no effect.''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) Section 14(a) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974
(45 U.S.C. 231m(a)) is amended by adding at the end the
following: ``. The provisions of section 207(d) of the Social
Security Act shall apply with respect to this title to the
same extent as they apply in the case of title II of such
Act.''.
(B) Section 2(e) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act
(45 U.S.C. 352(e)) is amended by adding at the end the
following: ``The provisions of section 207(d) of the Social
Security Act shall apply with respect to this title to the
same extent as they apply in the case of title II of such
Act.''
(b) Repeal of Administrative Offset Authority.--
(1) In general.--Paragraph (3) of section 3716(c) of title
31, United States Code, is amended--
(A) by striking ``(3)(A)(i) Notwithstanding'' and all that
follows through ``any overpayment under such program).'';
(B) by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D); and
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as paragraph (3).
(2) Conforming amendment.--Paragraph (5) of such section is
amended by striking ``the Commissioner of Social Security
and''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to any collection by administrative offset
occurring on or after the date of enactment of this Act of a
claim arising before, on, or after the date of enactment of
this Act.
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