[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16277]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR THE ELDERLY

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, last week, the Social Security 
Administration announced that there would be no cost of living 
adjustment to Social Security benefits next year.
  This news has seniors in western New York worried. The price of food, 
housing, and health care have increased. Without a corresponding 
increase in benefits, seniors will be asked to do more with less.
  The formula used to determine cost of living adjustments is not 
properly reflecting the senior economy. Seniors spend more on housing, 
food, and medical care and less on travel and education. That is why I 
support legislation to adopt a new formula, called the Consumer Price 
Index for the Elderly, that would give weight to price increases in 
housing and medical care and more accurately reflect the costs incurred 
by seniors.
  Unless Congress acts, the incomes of 60 million Americans will be 
effectively reduced. That would be bad for our economy and worse for 
the vulnerable Americans that we are here to protect.

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