[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20194-20195]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              RAILROAD RETIREMENT DISABILITY EARNINGS ACT

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5483) to increase the disability earning limitation under 
the Railroad Retirement Act and to index the amount of allowable 
earnings consistent with increases in the substantial gainful activity 
dollar amount under the Social Security Act.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5483

       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 ``Railroad Retirement 
     Disability Earnings Act''.

     SEC. 2. REFORM OF DISABILITY EARNINGS LIMITATION PROVISIONS.

       (a) In General.--Section 2(e)(4) of the Railroad Retirement 
     Act of 1974 is amended--
       (1) by striking ``$400 in earnings'' in the first sentence 
     and inserting ``the monthly allowable earnings as defined in 
     the section'';
       (2) by striking ``$4,800'' in the fourth sentence and 
     inserting ``the amount of earnings computed by totaling the 
     monthly allowable earnings as determined under this section 
     for each month in the year''; and
       (3) by striking the fifth sentence and inserting ``If the 
     total amount of such individual's earnings during such year 
     (exclusive of earnings for services as described in 
     subdivision (3) and after deduction of disability related 
     work expenses) is in excess of the annual allowable earnings 
     amount, the number of months in such year with respect to 
     which an annuity is not payable by reason of the first and 
     third sentences shall not exceed the number of months derived 
     by dividing the amount by which such annual earnings exceed 
     the annual allowable earnings amount by the monthly allowable 
     earning amount determined under this section. If the 
     computation under the preceding sentence results in a 
     remainder greater than or equal to one-half, the number of 
     months for which an annuity is not payable as determined 
     under the preceding sentence shall be increased by one. The 
     annual allowable earnings amount shall be computed by 
     totaling the amount of monthly allowable earnings as 
     determined under the first sentence of this subdivision for 
     each month in the calender year. If the amount of the 
     individual's annuity has changed during the calendar year, 
     any payment of annuities which become payable solely by 
     reason of the limitations in the preceding three sentences 
     shall be made first with respect to the month or months for 
     which the annuity is larger. For purposes of this 
     subdivision, `the monthly allowable earnings' shall be $700, 
     except that for each year after 2007, `the monthly allowable 
     earnings' amount shall be the larger of the amount for the 
     previous year or the amount calculated by multiplying $700 by 
     the ratio of the national average wage index for the year 2 
     calender years before the year for which the amount is being 
     calculated to the national average wage index for the year 
     2005. The amount so computed will be rounded to the next 
     higher multiple of $10 where such amount is a multiple of $5 
     but not of $10 and to the nearest multiple of $10 in any 
     other case.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     take effect January 1, 2007.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine 
Brown) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 5483.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. I strongly support this bipartisan legislation.
  H.R. 5483 is a bill to help disabled railroad employees. Under our 
current system, a permanently disabled railroad worker is given a 
monthly stipend by the Railroad Retirement Board. The average stipend 
is about $1,911 a month, which is often too little to support a family. 
This has led disabled workers to seek a supplemental source of income.
  If a disabled railroad worker is well enough to work at another job, 
current law limits his or her earnings to only $400 a month, a limit 
which has remained unchanged for years.
  Mr. Speaker, in my own district, the mayor of Mentor, Ohio, is a 
disabled railroad worker, and he can only accept $400 as his monthly 
pay for being the mayor of Mentor.
  This legislation that we are considering today, H.R. 5483, the 
Railroad Retirement Disability Earnings Act, will increase that amount 
to only $700 per month, with no decrease in retirement benefits. The 
$700 figure will also be indexed to inflation.
  The cost of this legislation is estimated to be at less than $500,000 
a year. To put things in perspective, the National Railroad Retirement 
Trust is currently valued at over $29 billion and has been so well 
managed that railroad payroll taxes are actually going down.
  H.R. 5483, the Railroad Retirement Disability Earnings Act, is 
important to disabled railroad employees and their families and is one 
of the most important pieces of railroad legislation that we will 
consider this year.
  I urge your support for this bill and wish to commend our committee 
chairman, Mr. Young of Alaska; the ranking minority member, Mr. 
Oberstar; and the subcommittee's ranking minority member, Ms. Brown, 
for her outstanding leadership on this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I want to thank Chairman Young and Chairman LaTourette and Ranking 
Member Oberstar for their work in bringing this important bill to the 
House floor for a vote.
  It has been nearly 20 years since we have passed a bill to help out 
our Nation's rail workers who were injured on the job and unable to 
continue working in the railroad industry. I am pleased to see that 
everyone has agreed to support an increase in their allowed monthly 
earnings limit so that these hardworking men and women can work freely 
in jobs that are not as physically demanding as those in the railroad 
industry.
  H.R. 5483 will increase the outside earnings limits for disabled 
workers from $400 to $700 per month, which will then increase yearly 
based on the Social Security index.
  We all know that the cost of living in this country is skyrocketing. 
Whether it is the cost of needed medicines, increased insurance 
premiums, or the high price of gasoline, this small increase will make 
a major impact on the ability of these individuals to provide for their 
families.
  I stand in strong support of this legislation, and I am happy to see 
everyone has come together today and that the views of all interested 
groups, not just a select few, were included in this legislation.
  I encourage all of my colleagues to support this important 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. Very shortly, I would advise my distinguished ranking member 
that I have no additional speakers, but I do want to make this comment.
  This is my first session of Congress to serve as the chairman of the 
Railroad Subcommittee, and it has been my distinct pleasure to serve 
with the gentlewoman from Florida, and I want to thank her for the kind 
and bipartisan way in which she has treated all of the issues that have 
come before the subcommittee these last 2 years.
  I do not know where our forces are going to take us in the next 
couple of years, but I very much look forward to working with you, and 
with that, when the gentlewoman yields back, I will do the same.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5483. 
This bill increases the outside earnings limit for disabled workers 
from $400 to $700 per month, and indexes their outside earnings 
annually after 2007 to increases in the national average wage index--
consistent with the indexing mechanism for determining substantial 
gainful employment under the Social Security Act.
  Currently, the Railroad Retirement Act withholds monthly annuities 
for disabled workers who earn more than $400 in outside income. At the 
end of each year, the withheld annuities are reimbursed to disabled 
workers whose total annual earnings are less than $5,000. Otherwise, 
the annuity is subject to a deduction of 1 month's benefit for each 
multiple of

[[Page 20195]]

$400 earned over $5,000. H.R. 5483 increases that threshold to $8,750.
  With ever-increasing costs for health care and prescription drugs, an 
extra $300 in earnings per month could make a real difference for 
disabled persons, who are all too often denied affordable, 
comprehensive healthcare, and guaranteed coverage of prescription 
drugs.
  The Railroad Retirement Board's chief actuary estimates that these 
increases would not have a substantial impact on the Railroad 
Retirement Trust Fund. According to the actuary, the cost of raising 
the disability work deduction limit would be less than $1 million per 
year. That is a small price to pay for helping meet the needs of many 
disabled persons and their families.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5483.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5483.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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