Senator Tammy Baldwin (above) is a US Senator from Wisconsin. Her office issued the following last week:
For Immediate Release
Thursday, November 05, 2015
Contact:
press@baldwin.senate.gov
(202) 224-6225
Senators Introduce SAVE Benefits Act to Boost Social Security and Other Critical Benefits for Seniors, Veterans
Without legislation, Social Security recipients, veterans face rare, zero cost-of-living increase in 2016
Bill would end tax subsidies for million-dollar corporate bonuses to give 70 million Americans emergency relief
WASHINGTON,
DC - Today, United States Senators Tammy Baldwin, Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Charles E.
Schumer (D-N.Y.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.),
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.),
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand
(D-N.Y.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris
Murphy (D-Conn.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai'i), and
Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced legislation to boost Social
Security and other critical benefits for seniors, veterans and other
Americans following last month's announcement that there will be a zero
cost-of-living adjustment in 2016.
"Every
month, thirty percent of Wisconsin's seniors depend on Social Security
as their only source of income. This means they are relying on a promise
that must be kept,"
Senator Baldwin said. "Congress must take action, as we have in
the past, to keep our promise and I am proud to support this emergency
payment to make sure seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and
other Americans are able to make ends meet."
Although
the cost of core goods and services is projected to rise next year,
millions of Americans will see no increase in the benefits they rely on
to make ends meet. Meanwhile, CEO compensation
for the top 350 firms increased by 3.9 percent last year. The Seniors
and Veterans Emergency Benefits Act (SAVE Benefits Act) would give about
70 million seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and others an
emergency payment equal to 3.9 percent of the
average annual Social Security benefit, about $581 - the same
percentage raise as the top CEOs.
A
$581 increase could cover almost three months of groceries for seniors
or a year's worth of out-of-pocket costs on critical prescription drugs
for the average Medicare beneficiary. The bill
would lift more than 1 million Americans out of poverty. The cost of
this emergency payment would be covered by closing a tax loophole
allowing corporations to write off executive bonuses as a business
expense for "performance pay." The substantial additional
revenue saved by closing the CEO compensation loophole would be used to
bolster and extend the life of the Social Security and Disability trust
funds.
"If we do nothing, on January 1st, more
than 70 million seniors, veterans, and other Americans won't get an
extra dime in much-needed Social Security and other benefits. And while
Congress
sits on its hands and pretends that there's nothing we can do,
taxpayers will keep right on subsidizing billions of dollars' worth of
bonuses for highly paid CEOs,"
Senator Warren said. "Giving seniors a little help with their
Social Security and stitching up corporate tax write-offs isn't just
about economics; it's about our values. Congress should pass the SAVE
Benefits Act today to give a boost to millions of
Americans who have earned it."
“I believe that ‘Honor thy mother and father’ isn’t just a good commandment to live by, it’s good public policy to govern by,”
Senator Mikulski said. “This legislation will help 1.1 million
seniors, veterans of Social Security age and federal employee retirees
in Maryland so they aren’t left out in the cold when it comes to the
Social Security benefits they’ve earned and deserve.
An adjustment in 2016 Social Security benefits for seniors will go a
long way when it comes to visits to the doctor, putting food on the
table or a roof over head. I will continue to fight so that seniors,
veterans and federal employees have a government on
their side.”
"After a lifetime of hard work, all
seniors deserve the opportunity to live healthy, full, and financially
secure lives, and many rely on small annual increases to their Social
Security benefits
just to get by. Now is no time for them to go without this adjustment,
especially with so many still struggling."
Senator Murray said. "Instead of allowing the biggest
corporations to benefit from wasteful and egregious tax loopholes, we
should be prioritizing ways to help seniors, veterans, and individuals
with disabilities have a fighting chance to make ends meet."
"It
is unacceptable that millions of senior citizens and disabled veterans
did not receive a cost-of-living adjustment this year to keep up with
their rising living expenses. At a time when
senior poverty is going up and more than two-thirds of the elderly
population rely on Social Security for more than half of their income,
our job must be to expand, not cut, Social Security,"
said Senator Sanders. "At the very least, we must do everything
we can to make sure that every senior citizen and disabled veteran in
this country receives a fair cost-of-living adjustment to keep up with
the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs and
health care."
"Millions
of retirees and Americans with disabilities rely on Social Security for
the majority of their income. And our veterans deserve the monthly
benefits they've earned for their service
to our country," said Senator Brown. "When these benefits don't
keep up with the cost-of-living, vulnerable Americans are stuck making
tough choices just to get by each month. The SAVE Benefits Act would
provide a needed boost for seniors, veterans,
and individuals with disabilities so they can make ends meet."
"Ask
any senior in Connecticut and they'll tell you prices and rent and
taxes are going up. So it's insulting for Social Security to fail to
provide a simple cost of living increase this year,"
said Senator Murphy. "This bill makes a simple, common sense trade -
ask millionaires to take a little smaller bonus in exchange for seniors
being able to pay their bills next year."
The
SAVE Benefits Act is supported by AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Alliance for Retired
Americans, The ARC of the United States, B'nai B'rith International,
Campaign for America's Future, Center for Community
Change, Center for Effective Government, CREDO, Daily Kos, Democracy
for America, Economic Opportunity Institute, International Brotherhood
of the Teamsters, Justice in Aging, MoveOn.org, National Committee to
Preserve Social Security and Medicare, National
Council of La Raza, National Organization for Women, OWL-the Voice of
Women 40+, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Puget Sound Advocates
for Retirement Action, Social Security Works, Strengthen Social Security
Coalition, UltraViolet, and VoteVets.
View an online version of this release
here.
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