Associated Press reports Obama’s Social Security proposal, leaves out Republican’s plan

The Associated Press (AP) has reported that President Obama is asking Congress to approve a one-time $250.oo payment to senior citizens for the lack of a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) increase next year, an amount equivalent to $20.83 per month. The announcement from the Obama administration comes on the heels of an increasingly difficult situation over the passage of the Democrat’s health care plan, which calls for nearly $500 million in Medicare cost to seniors.

Social Security receives its annual increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W), which must be greater than zero for an increase to take place. Currently, the CPI-W would have to increase more than an unlikely 2.0% to get out of negative territory.

The AP article reports that certain lawmakers agree that seniors need some help this year, however the article cites only Democrats who support such a measure.

“We’re looking at a way to address it,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees Social Security. “I’m not sure what the exact answer is yet, but we’re looking at ways to address that.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he supports the $250 payments, as did Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over Social Security in the House.

The article only referneces one lawmaker that opposes the extra payment to seniors. Ironically, it is also the only Republican member of congress that is mentioned as well.

“I think it would be inappropriate,” said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. “The reason we set up this process was to have the Social Security reimbursement reflect the cost of living.”

Another omission by the AP is that of a Republican proposed piece of legislation by Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC). H.R. 3557 “To provide an emergency cost-of-living increase for Social Security benefits for 2010″, was introduced to the House on September 14, 2009. If enacted, the law would give Social Security recipients an increase based on the average of the previous 10 years’ COLA percentage. The proposed legislation states the increase:

…shall be deemed to be equal to the average of the 10 applicable increase percentages (as so defined) with respect to the base quarters (as so defined) in the 10 calendar years preceding 2009.

In 2009, the average Social Security payment for “all disabled workers” amounted to $1064.00 monthly, or $12,768 per year. The 10-year COLA average is 3.0% which translates to an annual amount of $383.00 for the average of “all disabled workers”, $133.00 more than the $250.00 Obama is proposing. The average for a widowed mother of two children would be an annual increase of $864.00 under the Republican proposal, $614.00 more than the Obama proposal of just $250.00.

The Obama proposal will pay a single disabled worker, the same amount it would pay a retired individual and widow/widower with dependents, while the Republican proposal is based on the amount the recipient is already accustomed to receiving.

The proposal is held up by the Democrat controlled congress, in the House Ways and Means Committee. Again, something else that Obama and the AP failed to mention.

Regarless of whether you believe in a 2010 increase of benefits or not, the fact that the Republicans work goes unnoticed and purposely overlooked is telling.

See chart below for additional comparisons.