Social Security

Floor Speech

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, as you know, today the Social Security Administration announced there will be no COLA, or cost of living increase, next year for more than 50 million seniors. That is the first time in 35 years that situation has occurred, and it worries me very much.

About a month ago, I introduced legislation which the occupant of the chair is a cosponsor of, along with Senators Leahy, Dodd, Stabenow, Begich, and Casey.

I ask unanimous consent to add Senator Mikulski and Senator Tom Udall as cosponsors of S. 1685.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. SANDERS. We are all saying that in the midst of this major economic downturn, the worst recession since the Great Depression, while we are keenly concerned about the 9.8 million Americans who are unemployed officially, the Americans who have given up looking for work, the millions of Americans who are working part time when they want to work full time--when you add that all together, that is something like 17 percent of our workforce, about 26 million Americans. We are concerned about that issue, and we have to do everything we can to make sure we get this economy going in a way that benefits not just Wall Street but ordinary Americans.

While we remain concerned about the need to start creating the millions of jobs the middle class in this country desperately need, we cannot turn our backs on the senior citizens of this country. What we are seeing today is that millions of seniors are facing extremely high prescription drug costs. They are facing very high health care costs. We have to address that issue.

The legislation I introduced--and it was introduced by Congressman DeFazio in the House--would provide a one-time $250 payment for more than 50 million seniors and disabled veterans. We would pay for that cost of about $14 billion by raising the Social Security tax on people who earn between $250,000 and $359,000, on a 1-year basis--about $14 billion.

What I am delighted about is that yesterday President Obama announced his support for the concept of a $250 one-time payment to our seniors on Social Security and to disabled veterans. He did not yet determine, in his judgment, the best way to fund that program. I think it is a real step forward that he is doing that. I am delighted that the majority leader, Senator Reid, has also been very strong on saying we have to make sure our seniors get some help this year, as has Speaker Pelosi and the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Rangel. I think we are making some real steps in the right direction.

Let me quote what the President said because I think he was right on:

Even as we seek to bring about recovery, we must act on behalf of those hardest hit by this recession. That is why I am announcing my support for an additional $250 in emergency recovery assistance to seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities to help them make it through these difficult times. These payments will provide aid to more than 50 million people in the coming year, relief that will not only make a difference for them, but for our economy as a whole, complementing the tax cuts we've provided working families and small businesses through the Recovery Act.

I very much appreciate that support from the President.

The bottom line is that this legislation is now in our jurisdiction. My hope and expectation is that we are going to move it as quickly as possible. With the President's support, we should be able to accomplish that in a short while.

In Vermont, I can tell you there are many seniors making the difficult choice about whether or not to heat their homes or pay for prescription drugs. Those are choices Americans should not have to make. Many seniors are also going to be seeing an increase in the cost of Medicare Part D.

If we do not deliver on this one-time $250 payment, you are going to see millions of seniors with a reduced amount in their Social Security check. That is not acceptable.

I think we are making some progress on this issue. Again, I thank Senator Reid for his strong support, Speaker Pelosi for her support, and most important, the President for his support. Let's get this done on behalf of seniors and disabled veterans. I think we will have done something that is very important.

With that, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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