{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://franken.senate.gov/?p=news&id=3324", "Floor Statement on SAVE Benefits Act", "2015-12-01", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Al Franken", "F000457", "franken.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(as prepared for delivery)M. PRESIDENT, we're just one month away from the New Year. 2016 will bring a lot of new things, but one thing it will not bring is a cost-of-living increase for seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. Despite the fact that the costs of health care, prescription drugs, and housing are increasing, the size of a Social Security check won't go up one cent on January 1 - unless Congress acts.That's why my colleagues and I have introduced the Senior and Veterans Emergency Benefits Act - or SAVE Benefits Act. The SAVE Benefits Act gives a one-time payment to seniors and veterans receiving their earned benefits so they can better meet their basic living expenses.The stagnant level for benefits in 2016 and its damaging effects are part of a bigger problem - too many of our seniors are feeling the squeeze and just aren't secure enough in their retirement. Today's Social Security benefits are not enough to live on, and other retirement savings aren't filling the gap. You see, the share of private-sector workers with pensions has fallen precipitously in recent years, and yet, today, half of all Americans don't have retirement accounts like 401(k) plans or IRAs.So without sufficient pensions or retirement accounts, many seniors depend on Social Security. Social Security benefits comprise over 90 percent of income for the poorest 25 percent of retirees. And Social Security comprises 70 percent of income for the middle 50 percent of retirees. With the costs of things seniors have to spend money on increasing, the absence of a cost-of-living increase in Social Security benefits is especially damaging.And I've heard from many Minnesota seniors who are deeply worried about the squeeze that no increase in Social Security will put on their budgets. Jeff from Minneapolis wrote, \"Food prices are up and my rent is up 4 percent in 2015 and will be up again in 2016.\" He continues, \"I lost most of my IRA earnings in the 2008/2009 debacle and now I rely almost entirely on Social Security.\" If we want Minnesotans like Jeff - and millions of Americans across the country facing similar situations - to have a secure retirement, we need to increase these benefits.And that's what the SAVE Benefits Act does. Under our bill, seniors and veterans get a 3.9 percent increase - the same percentage increase that CEO pay went up from 2013 to 2014. For the average beneficiary, a 3.9 percent raise comes to about 580 dollars over the year. While 580 dollars may not sound like a lot compared to the raises that CEOs are getting, 580 dollars can make a big difference to the average American. 580 dollars may cover several months of groceries or out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs for a senior on Medicare.Now, some may ask if we can afford to give seniors and veterans a raise right now. Too often, the ideas we've heard for quote-unquote \"fixing\" Social Security focus on cutting benefits - like reducing cost-of-living increases by using Chained CPI or raising the retirement age.But that's the wrong approach. We shouldn't cut our way to solvency. We need to strengthen our Social Security system by protecting and enhancing the benefits that seniors and veterans have earned. That means improving Social Security's finances.And a good place to start is by removing special provisions for the wealthiest Americans in our current tax code. Right now, individuals making millions of dollars still only pay payroll tax on the first 118,500 dollars of their income. Over the long term, that is the sort of thing we need to address in order to strengthen Social Security.And this bill proposes to pay for the one-time increase in Social Security benefits in the same spirit - rebalancing our tax code by ending a tax deduction for CEO pay that doesn't make sense and just allows corporations to avoid paying their fair share in taxes.CEOs and big businesses will still do just fine under this bill. At the same time, the SAVE Benefits Act will provide critical assistance to Americans struggling to meet their expenses. In fact, this increase in benefits will lift about 8,000 Minnesotans out of poverty, and thousands more in every state.Ultimately, the debate over this bill comes down to priorities. What's more important? Protecting high pay for the wealthiest Americans or ensuring that seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities have the income security that they need to pay for health care, prescription drugs, and housing?M. PRESIDENT, as this year comes to a close, it's time to get our priorities straight and stand up for our seniors and our veterans. They need a raise in 2016.Thank you.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://franken.senate.gov/?p=news&id=3324"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8207869250327349, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}