Keeping our Promise to Seniors Act

Keeping Our Promise to Seniors Act

This bill directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly Consumer Price Index for Older Americans (CPI-OA) that:

• measures changes over time in the cost of living for a population that consists solely of individuals living in the United States who are age 62 or older;
• is specifically designed to reflect the geographic areas in which such individuals reside, the goods and services they purchase, and the typical prices for those goods and services; and
• is not based on any other consumer price index published by the BLS.

The bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to use this new CPI-OA in the computation of cost-of-living increases for OASDI benefits.

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4551 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4551

   To require the establishment of a Consumer Price Index for Older 
  Americans to compute cost-of-living increases for monthly insurance 
   benefits under title II of the Social Security Act, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 12, 2016

  Mr. Jolly introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the establishment of a Consumer Price Index for Older 
  Americans to compute cost-of-living increases for monthly insurance 
   benefits under title II of the Social Security Act, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Keeping our Promise to Seniors 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR OLDER AMERICANS.

    (a) In General.--The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department 
of Labor shall prepare and publish an index for each calendar month to 
be known as the ``Consumer Price Index for Older Americans'' that--
            (1) measures changes over time in the cost of living for a 
        population that consists solely of individuals living in the 
        United States who are 62 years of age or older;
            (2) is specifically designed to reflect the geographic 
        areas in which such individuals reside, the goods and services 
        purchased by such individuals, and the prices typically by such 
        individuals for those goods and services; and
            (3) is not based on any other consumer price index 
        published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to 
calendar months beginning after the date that is 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. COMPUTATION OF COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES FOR OLD-AGE AND 
              SURVIVOR'S BENEFITS.

    (a) In General.--Section 215(i) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 415(i)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(G), by inserting before the period the 
        following: ``, and, with respect to any monthly insurance 
        benefit payable under this title, effective for adjustments 
        under this subsection to the primary insurance amount on which 
        such benefit is based (or to any such benefit under section 227 
        or 228), the applicable Consumer Price Index shall be deemed to 
        be the Consumer Price Index for Older Americans and such 
        primary insurance amount shall be deemed adjusted under this 
        subsection using such Index''; and
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and by section 9001'' 
        and inserting ``, by section 9001'', and by inserting after 
        ``1986,'' the following: ``and by section 3(a) of the Keeping 
        our Promise to Seniors Act,''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments in Applicable Former Law.--Section 
215(i)(1)(C) of such Act, as in effect in December 1978 and applied in 
certain cases under the provisions of such Act in effect after December 
1978, is amended by inserting before the period the following: ``, and, 
with respect to any monthly insurance benefit payable under this title, 
effective for adjustments under this subsection to the primary 
insurance amount on which such benefit is based (or to any such benefit 
under section 227 or 228), the applicable Consumer Price Index shall be 
deemed to be the Consumer Price Index for Older Americans and such 
primary insurance amount shall be deemed adjusted under this subsection 
using such Index''.
    (c) No Effect on Adjustments Under Other Laws.--Section 215(i) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(6) Any provision of law (other than in this title) which 
provides for adjustment of an amount based on a change in benefit 
amounts resulting from a determination made under this subsection shall 
be applied and administered without regard to the amendments made by 
section 3 of the Keeping our Promise to Seniors Act.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) shall 
apply to determinations made with respect to cost-of-living computation 
quarters beginning after the date that is 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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