[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17338]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        SOCIAL SECURITY COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT PROTECTION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. HERSETH. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Social Security 
Cost of Living Adjustment Protection Act of 2004. As my colleagues 
know, I am a new Member of Congress. This legislation, which will 
protect the retirement incomes of millions of Americans, marks the 
first bill that I have introduced.

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  To me, this bill represents the partial fulfillment of a pledge I 
made to thousands of seniors in South Dakota that if they sent me to 
Washington, I would fight for them, stand by them and make their voice 
heard. This bill meets that goal by helping to ensure retirement 
security for every senior who depends upon his or her monthly social 
security check to make ends meet.
  I am joined today in introducing this bill by our Democratic leader, 
the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), and by two senior members 
of the Committee on Ways and Means, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Stark), the ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means 
Subcommittee on Health; and the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui), 
the ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on 
Social Security.
  In addition, I deeply appreciate the support of the many additional 
Members who are joining us in sponsoring this legislation today. Our 
bill will protect senior citizens from seeing the modest annual 
increase they receive in their social security benefits absorbed by the 
rising cost of health care. For retirees who depend on social security 
benefits to live, the only defense against increasing prices for food, 
clothing, and energy is the annual cost-of-living adjustment. However, 
rising Medicare premiums are threatening to severely diminish the 
purchasing power of this yearly increase in benefits.
  In fact, this fall retirees are projected to face the largest premium 
increase in the history of the program. This means that next year a 
widow with a $600 monthly social security check will use 59 percent of 
her COLA just to pay the increase in her Medicare premium.
  Every dollar that goes toward rising Medicare premiums is one less 
she can use to pay for groceries or her utility bill. We are not 
wealthy in South Dakota. Retirees in my State clip coupons. They put 
off buying the things they need. They live modestly, because that is 
what they have to do to get by. So it is no exaggeration to say that 
retirees in South Dakota need every penny of their COLA, not just so 
they can maintain a basic standard of living, but so they can maintain 
their dignity.
  This legislation protects retirees by ensuring that no more than 25 
percent of their COLA can be absorbed by the increase in Medicare 
premiums. Next year, it will protect more than 27 million retirees who 
otherwise would see their scarce dollars taken from food, clothing and 
other essential purchases.
  I hope that Congress will take up and pass this legislation quickly, 
because the need for it is real and immediate. This fall, just as 
Medicare premiums go up, temperatures in South Dakota will be going 
down. Seniors will sit at their kitchen tables reading through their 
bills, and they may wonder yet again how they are going to make it 
through the month. We owe them to do better, and I hope that we will.

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