[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.
                                 ______