Social Security Protection Act of 2011 - Makes it out of order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any legislation that: (1) increases the retirement age or the early retirement age for individuals receiving benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act on or after the enactment of this Act; (2) reduces cost-of-living increases for them; (3) reduces benefit payment amounts for them; or (4) creates private retirement accounts for any of the OSADI benefits they receive.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1118 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1118
To establish a point of order against any efforts to reduce benefits
paid to Social Security recipients, raise the retirement age, or create
private retirement accounts under title II of the Social Security Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2011
Mr. Weiner (for himself, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Jackson Lee of
Texas, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Filner, and Mr. Deutch) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Rules
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a point of order against any efforts to reduce benefits
paid to Social Security recipients, raise the retirement age, or create
private retirement accounts under title II of the Social Security Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Social Security Protection Act of
2011''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Social Security is the most successful and reliable
social program in our Nation's history.
(2) For 75 years, through good times and bad, Social
Security has reliably kept millions of senior citizens,
individuals with disabilities, and children out of poverty.
(3) Before President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social
Security Act into law on August 14, 1935, approximately half of
the senior citizens in the United States lived in poverty; less
than 10 percent of seniors live in poverty today.
(4) Social Security has succeeded in protecting working
Americans and their families from devastating drops in
household income due to lost wages resulting from retirement,
disability, or the death of a spouse or parent.
(5) More than 53,000,000 Americans receive Social Security
benefits, including 36,500,000 retirees and their spouses,
9,200,000 veterans, 8,200,000 disabled individuals and their
spouses, 4,500,000 surviving spouses of deceased workers, and
4,300,000 dependent children.
(6) Social Security has never contributed to the Federal
budget deficit or the national debt, and benefit cuts should
not be proposed as a solution to reducing the Federal budget
deficit.
(7) Social Security is not in a crisis or going bankrupt,
as the Social Security Trust Funds have been running surpluses
for the last quarter of a century.
(8) According to the Social Security Administration, the
Social Security Trust Funds currently maintain a
$2,600,000,000,000 surplus that is project to grow to
$4,200,000,000,000 by 2023.
(9) According to the Social Security Administration, even
if no changes are made to the Social Security program, full
benefits will be available to every recipient until 2037, with
enough funding remaining after that date to pay about 78
percent of promised benefits.
(10) According to the Social Security Administration,
``money flowing into the [Social Security] trust funds is
invested in U.S. Government securities . . . the investments
held by the trust funds are backed by the full faith and credit
of the U.S. Government. The Government has always repaid Social
Security, with interest.''.
(11) All workers who contribute into Social Security
through the 12.4 percent payroll tax, which is divided equally
between employees and employers on income up to $106,800,
deserve to have a dignified and secure retirement.
(12) Social Security provides the majority of income for
two-thirds of the elderly population in the United States, with
approximately one-third of elderly individuals receiving nearly
all of their income from Social Security.
(13) Overall, Social Security benefits for retirees
currently average a modest $14,000 a year, with the average for
women receiving benefits being less than $12,000 per year.
(14) Nearly 1 out of every 4 adult Social Security
beneficiaries has served in the United States military.
(15) Social Security is not solely a retirement program, as
it also serves as a disability insurance program for American
workers who become permanently disabled and unable to work.
(16) The Social Security Disability Insurance program is a
critical lifeline for millions of American workers, as a 20-
year-old worker faces a 30 percent chance of becoming disabled
before reaching retirement age.
(17) Proposals to privatize the Social Security program
would jeopardize the security of millions of Americans by
subjecting them to the ups-and-downs of the volatile stock
market as the source of their retirement benefits.
(18) Raising the retirement age would jeopardize the
retirement future of millions of American workers, particularly
those in physically demanding jobs as well as lower-income
women, African-Americans, and Latinos, all of whom have a much
lower life expectancy than wealthier Americans.
(19) Social Security benefits have already been cut by 13
percent, as the Normal Retirement Age was raised in 1983 from
65 years of age to 67 years of age by 2022.
(20) According to the Social Security Administration,
raising the retirement age for future retirees would reduce
benefits by 6 to 7 percent for each year that the Normal
Retirement Age is raised.
(21) Reducing cost-of-living adjustments for current or
future Social Security beneficiaries would force millions of
such individuals to choose between heating their homes, putting
food on the table, or paying for their prescription drugs.
(22) Social Security is a promise that this Nation cannot
afford to break.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON CHANGES TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM FOR
CURRENT AND FUTURE BENEFICIARIES.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it
shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to
consider, for purposes of the old-age, survivors, and disability
insurance benefits program established under title II of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), any legislation that--
(1) increases the retirement age (as defined in section
216(l)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 416(l)(1))) or
the early retirement age (as defined in section 216(l)(2) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 416(l)(2))) for individuals
receiving benefits under title II of the Social Security Act on
or after the date of enactment of this Act;
(2) reduces cost-of-living increases for individuals
receiving benefits under title II of the Social Security Act on
or after the date of enactment of this Act, as determined under
section 215(i) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i));
(3) reduces benefit payment amounts for individuals
receiving benefits under title II of the Social Security Act on
or after the date of enactment of this Act; or
(4) creates private retirement accounts for any of the
benefits individuals receive under title II of the Social
Security Act on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) Waiver or Suspension.--
(1) In the senate.--The provisions of this section may be
waived or suspended in the Senate only by the affirmative vote
of two-thirds of the Members, present and voting.
(2) In the house.--The provisions of this section may be
waived or suspended in the House of Representatives only by a
rule or order proposing only to waive such provisions by an
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members, present and
voting.
(c) Point of Order Protection.--In the House of Representatives, it
shall not be in order to consider a rule or order that waives the
application of paragraph (2) of subsection (b).
(d) Motion To Suspend.--It shall not be in order for the Speaker to
entertain a motion to suspend the application of this section under
clause 1 of rule XV of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Rules.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line