No $250 check for seniors

chart_social_security.top.gif By Charles Riley, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The House failed to pass a bill Wednesday that would have put a $250 check in the mail to 58 million Social Security recipients.

The measure was designed to provide a one-time payment to make up for another year without a cost-of-living adjustment to benefits.

The bill, which would cost about $14 billion, failed by a vote of 254 - 153.

The vote largely broke down along party lines, with 12 Democrats breaking ranks to join 141 Republicans in voting against the measure. Twenty-six Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

"While many seniors are hurting, so too are American working families," said Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas. "Increasing our nation's crushing deficit on the backs of our children by an additional $14 billion is wrong."

In October, the federal government announced that Social Security beneficiaries will see no increase in their benefit checks in 2011. It's the second year in a row with no increase.

The last time there was an inflation adjustment was in 2009, when Social Security beneficiaries got a higher-than-normal 5.8% increase because of a temporary spike in energy prices in the third quarter of 2008.

Soon after, however, energy prices plummeted. Then the bottom fell out of the economy and prices still haven't fully recovered. As a result, seniors haven't seen a boost in their benefits for two years.

"This is causing a hardship for so many given the fact that Social Security benefit levels are really very modest," said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D.-N.D., who is the author of the legislation.

By law, the Social Security Administration is required to track inflation using the most recent third quarter that led to an adjustment. But critics argue that by using only one quarter of data, the change in benefits is more volatile than necessary.

While the House vote is a major blow to supporters of the payment, the Senate is considering a similar bill introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent.

On Wednesday, the White House issued a policy statement in support of that proposal.

"Passage of this legislation would help approximately 58 million of those Americans hit hardest by the recession," the statement said. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.