Tax Extenders Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, the amendment I want to speak on is No. 3353. This amendment is extremely simple and it is extremely straightforward.

At a time when millions of senior citizens, veterans, and persons with disabilities have slipped out of the middle class and into poverty; at a time when the cost of prescription drugs, medical care, and heating oil have gone through the roof in many parts of our country; at a time when millions of seniors have seen the values of their pensions, their homes, and their life savings plummet; at a time--and here is the important point--for the first time in 36 years, seniors will not be receiving a COLA in their Social Security benefits.

The amendment I am offering today with Senators DODD, LEAHY, SCHUMER, KERRY, WHITEHOUSE, MIKULSKI, GILLIBRAND, LAUTENBERG, and BEGICH will provide over 55 million senior citizens, veterans, and persons with disabilities $250 in much needed emergency relief. This $250 emergency payment is equivalent to a 2-percent increase in benefits for the average Social Security retiree, and it is, as you will recall, the same amount seniors received last year as part of the Recovery Act. In other words, what we are doing now is exactly the same as we did last year with the Recovery Act.

I do not know about New Mexico, but I do know that in Vermont, a lot of senior citizens and disabled veterans are wondering this year why they are not receiving a COLA. They have written to my office and they are saying to me: Hey, I don't know what you are talking about because my costs have increased over the last year. That is because, in fact, while inflation may not have gone up in general, those areas elderly people and people who have health problems utilize--prescription drugs, health care, other health-related issues--those costs have gone up very substantially. I think there is an awareness all over this country that we cannot, in the midst of this recession, turn our backs on disabled veterans and seniors.

This amendment has widespread support from organizations representing tens of millions of Americans. Among the organizations that are supporting this amendment are the AARP, the largest senior group in America; the American Legion, the largest veterans group in America; the Veterans of Foreign Wars; the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare; the Disabled American Veterans; AMVETS and OWL and many other organizations.

Money directed to this population will go almost immediately into the economy. So when we talk about stimulus, I don't know of a better way to get money out into the economy than passing this amendment.

I am also very happy and delighted that President Obama is very strongly supportive of a $250 emergency payment to seniors. As you know, the President has spoken out on this issue, he has also included it in his budget, and he has also recommended that it be included in the underlying legislation we are debating today.

Here is what President Obama has said about this issue:

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 for 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. This additional assistance will be especially important in the coming months as countless seniors and others have seen their retirement accounts and home values decline as a result of this economic crisis.

That is the end of the quote by President Obama. I very much appreciate the President speaking out and fighting for senior citizens and the disabled with regard to this issue.

I can tell you that just on Monday I had a meeting with senior citizens and senior citizens organizations in the State of Vermont. It was a very distressing meeting. When we talked, for example, about nutrition programs, the Meals on Wheels program or the congregate meals programs by which seniors come to senior citizens centers to get a decent lunch, what people are telling me is that for the first time in many years, when seniors are asked to put money into an envelope--and very carefully, the senior centers don't want to know what people contribute. They ask for, say, $2 or $3, but people can contribute whatever they want. What they are noticing now is that more and more seniors are putting nothing into the envelope or maybe just $1. They are seeing the same process when people get out in their cars and they deliver Meals on Wheels to very fragile and frail people, often in rural areas, and people don't even have the money, now, to even pay $2 for a lunch.

All over this country, seniors are hurting. I think they are upset and distressed that they are not getting a COLA this year. Essentially, what this payment is about is a substitute for a COLA. It is a 1-year payment, and it is the equivalent of about a 2-percent COLA.

Let me mention the response of some of the veterans organizations. This amendment, importantly, will be helping our disabled veterans. Here is what the VFW said in support of this amendment:

This year, veterans and seniors will not receive a COLA. This could not come at a worse time. Your legislation would provide a one-time check of $250 to 1.4 million veterans, 48.9 million Social Security recipients, and 5.1 million SSI recipients. We believe that this will provide some relief to those veterans and seniors living on fixed incomes who rely on a COLA to keep up with daily living expenses. The VFW commends you for concentrating on changes that can positively impact the lives of others and looks forward to working with you and your staff to ensure passage of this legislation.

I thank the Veterans of Foreign Wars for the great work they do and for supporting this amendment. We appreciate their support.

Let me quote a letter I recently received from another organization that has been very strong for many years in fighting for senior citizen rights; that is, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. This is what the national committee says:

The National Committee strongly urges you to pass legislation to provide a $250 payment to our Nation's seniors who did not receive a COLA this year. It is vitally important that we provide help for seniors of modest means who have been adversely affected by the economic recession and rapidly rising health care costs. Seniors have been especially hard hit by the 20 percent to 30 percent decline in the value of employer pensions, IRAs and 401(k)s, as well as the steep drop in housing values. And, unlike younger Americans, the elderly are much less likely to recover their savings losses due to their shorter economic horizon.

That is from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. We very much appreciate their support for this amendment.

Here is a quote from the AARP, which represents over 40 million Americans, and we very much appreciate their support. This is what the AARP says:

For over three decades, millions of Americans have counted on annual increases to help make ends meet. In this economy, having this protection is even more critical for the financial security of all older Americans. AARP applauds the President for urging Congress to extend for 2010 the $250 economic relief provided to older Americans last year. The 65-plus population is facing extreme financial hardship. Older Americans are paying more out of pocket for medical care, have experienced a real decline in their retirement accounts and in housing values, face longer periods of unemployment for those who need work, and low returns on interest bearing accounts. Without relief, millions of older Americans will be unable to afford skyrocketing health care and prescription drug costs as well as other basic necessities. AARP will continue to work with Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to provide $250 in economic relief to millions of seniors who count on Social Security to pay their bills.

Here is the point, the point the VFW has made, the national committee has made, the AARP has made. Some people may say $250 is not a lot of money, but the truth is, if you are a senior in the State of Vermont or in any other State in this country and your health care costs are going up and your prescription drug costs are going up and your heating bills are going up and you are not getting any COLA this year, you are in trouble. You are in real trouble. I do not want to give any illusion that this $250 is going to turn people's lives around. It is not. But it is going to make a real difference in giving people a little bit of support, making their lives just a little bit easier.

This is extremely important legislation, and it is important legislation that I hope can have widespread bipartisan support.

Once again, I thank all the organizations that are supporting this amendment; that is, the AARP, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, the Disabled American Veterans, AMVETS, and OWL as well.

The bottom line is, we are in the midst of a very serious recession. We are doing our best to try to figure out ways to create the millions of good-paying jobs working people need. We are going to pass COBRA to make sure when people lose their jobs they do not lose their health insurance. We are going to extend unemployment benefits. But in the middle of all of that, let's not forget our parents and our grandparents. Let's not forget senior citizens and disabled veterans. Let's pass this amendment.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, as senior citizens and disabled veterans all over this country know, this is the first year since 1975--36 years ago--that there will not be a Social Security cost-of-living adjustment or COLA. In my view, the fact that people in need--seniors, disabled veterans, people who have disabilities--will not be receiving a COLA this year is wrong and it is an issue we have to address and I hope we will address it successfully this afternoon, in terms of the amendment I will offer.

The reality is, in recent years, senior citizens, veterans, and persons with disabilities have slipped out of the middle class and into poverty. That is a reality--out of the middle class and into poverty. The reality is, today prescription drug costs are soaring, medical care costs for seniors and disabled people are soaring, and heating oil has gone through the roof, especially relevant to those of us in cold-weather States.

At a time when millions of seniors have seen the value of their pensions, their homes, and their life savings plummet, we cannot turn our back on some of the most vulnerable people in this country. They are hurting and they need our emergency support and that is why I am offering, today, along with Senators Dodd, Leahy, Whitehouse, Gillibrand, Lautenberg, Begich, Stabenow, and Menendez, an amendment which will provide over 55 million seniors, veterans, and persons with disabilities $250--a one-time payment--in much needed emergency relief. This $250 emergency payment is equivalent to a 2-percent increase in benefits for the average Social Security retiree, and it is the same amount seniors received last year as part of the Recovery Act.

Two percent is not a lot of money, but it will, in fact, provide much needed help to millions of people who are demanding we not turn our back on them. This amendment is supported by a wide array of seniors and veterans organizations representing tens of millions of Americans. Let me give some of the organizations that are supporting this amendment: the AARP, which is the largest senior group in America; the American Legion, the largest veterans group in America; the Veterans of Foreign Wars; the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare; the American Federation of Teachers Program on Retirement and Retirees; the Disabled American Veterans; the Alliance for Retired Americans; Easter Seals; the Military Officers Association; the Vietnam Veterans of America; the National Council on Aging; AMVETS; and many other organizations.

One of the side benefits of this amendment is that funds directed to this population will go almost immediately into the economy. These are folks who will spend that money, providing the quickest possible stimulus to local economies and thus creating jobs in every community in our country. President Obama is strongly supportive of this $250 in emergency relief to seniors. The President has included it in his budget, and he has also recommended it be included in the underlying legislation we are debating today.

Here is what the President has said about this issue:

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.

I very much appreciate the President's support for what we are trying to do here today.

In Vermont and all across this country, ordinary people believe the Congress is way out of touch with the realities of their lives. They believe that we just do not get it, that we do not understand that all over this country millions of people are hurting and that sometimes they are hurting desperately, that people are frantically trying to keep bread on their tables. People are trying to make sure they and their families can live with dignity, and they wonder if we in Congress get it. They know we are there for Wall Street. They know that. They know we are there to take care of big banks and insurance companies and drug companies, but they are not quite sure we are there to take care of vulnerable people who are elderly and who are disabled veterans.

Let me read some quotes from organizations and individuals on this issue. This is what the VFW has to say in support of this legislation:

This year veterans and seniors will not receive COLA. This could not come at a worse time. Your legislation would provide a one-time check of $250 to 1.4 million veterans, 48.9 million Social Security recipients, and 5.1 million SSI recipients. We believe that this will provide some relief to those veterans and seniors living on fixed incomes. .....

We thank the VFW very much for their support.

Let me quote very briefly from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare:

The National Committee strongly urges you to pass legislation to provide a $250 payment to our Nation's seniors who did not receive a COLA this year. It is vitally important that we provide help for seniors of modest means who have been adversely affected by the economic recession and rapidly rising health care costs.

Here is a quote from AARP, a group that represents over 40 million Americans age 55 and older, in support of this amendment. This is what they say:

For over three decades, millions of Americans have counted on annual increases to help make ends meet. In this economy, having this protection is even more critical for the financial security of all older Americans. AARP applauds the President for urging Congress to extend for 2010 the $250 economic relief provided to older Americans last year.

Let me quote again from another statement by AARP which I think makes this case very cogently. I think they nail it, and they tell us why it is absolutely imperative that we pass this legislation.

Last year, the Social Security Administration announced that for the first time since it began in 1975, seniors will not receive an automatic cost of living adjustment for 2010. Although the lack of a COLA was triggered by low overall inflation--

And here is the point--

the costs of the things seniors depend on most--prescription drugs and health care--have continued to increase above inflation. Seniors spend an average of 30 percent of their income on health care costs, 6 times greater than what those with employer-sponsored health care coverage spend, and these prescription drug costs, premiums, and copays have skyrocketed.

I think that is the main point to be made today. That is why we should support this one-time payment.

AARP, of course, is a large national organization.

Let me give some quotes from letters I have received from Vermont and from around the country.

A gentleman from central Vermont writes:

As you know, Social Security has not given a COLA increase on benefits in 2010, based on the CPI. I did some research and found these increases from January 2009 to January 2010.

This is what he has calculated.

Power rates are up by 7 percent; heating oil up by 15 percent; propane up by 24 percent; property taxes up 3.7 percent; gasoline up 16.6 percent; food up, conservatively speaking, 3 percent.

Here is where he said:

The CPI was obviously done by statisticians on vacation in Jamaica while sipping some tropical concoctions that impaired their judgment. These things above add up to nearly $3,000. To cover this, I would require a 12 percent increase in my disability benefits.

This is from central Vermont. I do not agree with the writer of this letter that the statisticians came to their conclusions by sipping tropical concoctions in Jamaica. I don't think that is the case. But I do believe he is correct in suggesting that the methodology by which COLAs for seniors are established is not right. Here is why. COLA increases are determined by a look at the purchasing practices of the entire population--all of us--and that is not fair to seniors today, whose purchasing needs are very different from the average person's. As the AARP pointed out, seniors spend a very disproportionate amount of their limited incomes on health care, prescription drugs, et cetera. Those costs have gone up. In other words, while costs may have gone down for younger people who may be purchasing laptop computers, IPODs, GPSs, flatscreen TVs, cell phones, and other products, they have not gone down for millions of seniors who are dependent and spend a whole lot on health care. By the way, that is why, when I was in the House, I offered legislation which received very strong bipartisan support to create a separate index for seniors in determining their COLAs. I do believe that is the direction we have to go.

I have received many letters. Let me read one more.

This comes from New Jersey. This is Claire from New Jersey:

I am 82 years old. Having been widowed and bankrupt at age 37 to raise my 3 young children alone, I thought that with my Social Security and my small pension plus by savings, I would never have to depend on my children to care for me in my old age. But now that my savings have been depleted by 30 percent and my health care insurance is costing me $3,200 a year, I am very worried if my savings will last me much longer.

Elizabeth in Spur, TX, writes:

Social Security is my main source of income. I have bills that I couldn't pay if it wasn't for this income. I think that it is a disgrace that the Government will bail out the banks and car manufacturers but not sure if the elderly will get a COLA. The elderly are the people that have kept this country together for years and they are considering not giving them a little raise? I wish that some Members of the Congress and the Senate had to live on the income that we have to and see how they can manage, like the saying goes, if the shoe was on the other foot.

Let me conclude by pointing out that there is bipartisan support for the concept we are talking about today, especially in the House of Representatives. In that body, in the House, Congressmen Walter Jones, Rodney Alexander, Phil Gingrey, and Roscoe Bartlett--all Republicans--have introduced legislation which, frankly, goes further than the amendment I am offering. Instead of a one-time payment, they are proposing a 2.9-percent COLA for Social Security, which ends up, obviously, costing a lot more than a one-time payment of about 2 percent.

Here is what Congressman Alexander, a Republican from Louisiana, said about his legislation:

Although the annual adjustment is a small increase, it is a much-needed benefit for our Nation's seniors to help them compensate for inflation and to sustain the skyrocketing prices of health care and prescription drugs. It is evident that the current Social Security system is not keeping up with our seniors' basic needs. Congress must take action today so that our Social Security beneficiaries are protected tomorrow.

That is from Congressman Alexander, a Republican from Louisiana. I agree with the Congressman, and I hope all of my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, will agree that seniors need emergency relief and they need it now.

Over 90 percent of the individuals who will receive this emergency relief make less than $75,000 and over 8 million who will receive help under this amendment make less than $14,000 a year.

That is where we are. Millions of people are wondering whether, in their times of need, when their costs are going up, when they are struggling to maintain their dignity--they are wondering whether a Congress that was there for Wall Street, a Congress which over a period of years has been there for the wealthiest people in this country, whether that same Congress will be there for disabled veterans and our seniors. I hope and believe we will be, and I ask for support for the amendment that will be voted on soon.

I yield the floor.

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, for the first time in 36 years, seniors and disabled veterans and persons with disabilities will not be receiving a cost-of-living adjustment, a COLA on their benefits. The argument for that is that they are not seeing inflationary costs. Go back home and talk to seniors, talk to disabled veterans. They will tell you they are paying sky-high costs for prescription drugs and health care. This amendment is supported by AARP, the American Legion, the VFW, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security, and a wide number of veterans organizations and senior citizens organizations that know it is wrong to turn our backs on seniors in this moment of economic difficulty.

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