I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2590 

To ensure that seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who receive 

Social Security and certain other Federal benefits, as well as Federal, 

State, and local government retirees, receive a one-time $250 payment 

due to there being no cost-of-living adjustment in 2011. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 19, 2011 

Mr. CROWLEY (for himself, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. FARR, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. LEWIS of 

Georgia, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. REYES, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. 

TOWNS, Mr. WU, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. FILNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Veterans’ Affairs, 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 ensure that seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities 

who receive Social Security and certain other Federal 

benefits, as well as Federal, State, and local government 

retirees, receive a one-time $250 payment due to there 

being no cost-of-living adjustment in 2011. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Seniors Protection Act 

3 of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PAYMENT IN LIEU OF A COST-OF-LIVING ADJUST5 MENT TO RECIPIENTS OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 

6 SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME, RAIL7 ROAD RETIREMENT BENEFITS, AND VET8 ERANS DISABILITY COMPENSATION OR PEN9 SION BENEFITS. 

10 (a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE PAYMENTS.— 

11 (1) ELIGIBILITY.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph 

13 (5)(B), the Secretary of the Treasury shall dis14 burse a $250 payment to each individual who, 

15 for any month during the 3-month period end16 ing with the month which ends prior to the 

17 month that includes the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act, is entitled to a benefit payment de19 scribed in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subpara20 graph (B) or is eligible for a SSI cash benefit 

21 described in subparagraph (C). In the case of 

22 an individual who is eligible for a payment 

23 under this subparagraph by reason of entitle24 ment to a benefit described in subparagraph 

25 (B)(i), no such payment shall be made to such 

26 individual unless such individual was paid a 


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1 benefit described in such subparagraph (B)(i) 

2 for any month in the 12-month period ending 

3 with the month which ends prior to the month 

4 that includes the date of the enactment of this 

5 Act. 

6 (B) BENEFIT PAYMENT DESCRIBED.—For 

7 purposes of subparagraph (A): 

8 (i) TITLE II BENEFIT.—A benefit pay9 ment described in this clause is a monthly 

10 insurance benefit payable (without regard 

11 to sections 202(j)(1) and 223(b) of the So12 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(j)(1), 

13 423(b))) under— 

14 (I) section 202(a) of such Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 402(a)); 

16 (II) section 202(b) of such Act 

17 (42 U.S.C. 402(b)); 

18 (III) section 202(c) of such Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 402(c)); 

20 (IV) section 202(d)(1)(B)(ii) of 

21 such Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 402(d)(1)(B)(ii)); 

23 (V) section 202(e) of such Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 402(e)); 


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1 (VI) section 202(f) of such Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 402(f)); 

3 (VII) section 202(g) of such Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 402(g)); 

5 (VIII) section 202(h) of such Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 402(h)); 

7 (IX) section 223(a) of such Act 

8 (42 U.S.C. 423(a)); 

9 (X) section 227 of such Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 427); or 

11 (XI) section 228 of such Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 428). 

13 (ii) RAILROAD RETIREMENT BEN14 EFIT.—A benefit payment described in this 

15 clause is a monthly annuity or pension 

16 payment payable (without regard to section 

17 5(a)(ii) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 

18 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231d(a)(ii))) under— 

19 (I) section 2(a)(1) of such Act 

20 (45 U.S.C. 231a(a)(1)); 

21 (II) section 2(c) of such Act (45 

22 U.S.C. 231a(c)); 

23 (III) section 2(d)(1)(i) of such 

24 Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(i)); 


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1 (IV) section 2(d)(1)(ii) of such 

2 Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(ii)); 

3 (V) section 2(d)(1)(iii)(C) of such 

4 Act to an adult disabled child (45 

5 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(iii)(C)); 

6 (VI) section 2(d)(1)(iv) of such 

7 Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(iv)); 

8 (VII) section 2(d)(1)(v) of such 

9 Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(v)); or 

10 (VIII) section 7(b)(2) of such Act 

11 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(2)) with respect to 

12 any of the benefit payments described 

13 in clause (i) of this subparagraph. 

14 (iii) VETERANS BENEFIT.—A benefit 

15 payment described in this clause is a com16 pensation or pension payment payable 

17 under— 

18 (I) section 1110, 1117, 1121, 

19 1131, 1141, or 1151 of title 38, 

20 United States Code; 

21 (II) section 1310, 1312, 1313, 

22 1315, 1316, or 1318 of title 38, 

23 United States Code; 


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1 (III) section 1513, 1521, 1533, 

2 1536, 1537, 1541, 1542, or 1562 of 

3 title 38, United States Code; or 

4 (IV) section 1805, 1815, or 1821 

5 of title 38, United States Code, 

6 to a veteran, surviving spouse, child, or 

7 parent as described in paragraph (2), (3), 

8 (4)(A)(ii), or (5) of section 101, title 38, 

9 United States Code, who received that ben10 efit during any month within the 3-month 

11 period ending with the month which ends 

12 prior to the month that includes the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act. 

14 (C) SSI CASH BENEFIT DESCRIBED.—A 

15 SSI cash benefit described in this subparagraph 

16 is a cash benefit payable under section 1611 

17 (other than under subsection (e)(1)(B) of such 

18 section) or 1619(a) of the Social Security Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 1382, 1382h). 

20 (2) REQUIREMENT.—A payment shall be made 

21 under paragraph (1) only to individuals who reside 

22 in 1 of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, 

23 Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Is24 lands, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana 

25 Islands, or who are utilizing a foreign or domestic 


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1 Army Post Office, Fleet Post Office, or Diplomatic 

2 Post Office address. For purposes of the preceding 

3 sentence, the determination of the individual’s resi4 dence shall be based on the address of record, as of 

5 the date of certification under subsection (b) for a 

6 payment under this section. 

7 (3) NO DOUBLE PAYMENTS.—An individual 

8 shall be paid only 1 payment under this section, re9 gardless of whether the individual is entitled to, or 

10 eligible for, more than 1 benefit or cash payment de11 scribed in paragraph (1). 

12 (4) LIMITATION.—A payment under this section 

13 shall not be made (or, in the case of subparagraph 

14 (D), shall not be due)— 

15 (A) in the case of an individual entitled to 

16 a benefit specified in paragraph (1)(B)(i) or 

17 paragraph (1)(B)(ii)(VIII) if— 

18 (i) for the most recent month of such 

19 individual’s entitlement in the 3-month pe20 riod described in paragraph (1), or 

21 (ii) for the month (as determined by 

22 the Commissioner of Social Security) in 

23 which such individual would, but for this 

24 paragraph, have been certified under subVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:02 Jul 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590

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1 section (b) to receive a payment under this 

2 section, 

3 such individual’s benefit under such paragraph 

4 was not payable by reason of subsection (x) or 

5 (y) of section 202 of the Social Security Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 402) or section 1129A of such Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 1320a–8a); 

8 (B) in the case of an individual entitled to 

9 a benefit specified in paragraph (1)(B)(iii) if, 

10 for the most recent month of such individual’s 

11 entitlement in the 3-month period described in 

12 paragraph (1), such individual’s benefit under 

13 such paragraph was not payable, or was re14 duced, by reason of section 1505, 5313, or 

15 5313B of title 38, United States Code; 

16 (C) in the case of an individual entitled to 

17 a benefit specified in paragraph (1)(C) if— 

18 (i) for such most recent month of 

19 such individual’s eligibility in the 3-month 

20 period described in paragraph (1), or 

21 (ii) for the month (as determined by 

22 the Commissioner of Social Security) in 

23 which such individual would, but for this 

24 paragraph, have been certified under subVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:02 Jul 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590

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1 section (b) to receive a payment under this 

2 section, 

3 such individual’s benefit under such paragraph 

4 was not payable by reason of subsection 

5 (e)(1)(A) or (e)(4) of section 1611 (42 U.S.C. 

6 1382) or section 1129A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 1320a–8a); or 

8 (D) in the case of any individual whose 

9 date of death occurs— 

10 (i) before the date of negotiation of a 

11 check payment to an individual certified 

12 under subsection (b) to receive a payment 

13 under this section; or 

14 (ii) in the case of a direct deposit, be15 fore the date on which such payment is de16 posited into such individual’s account. 

17 In the case of any individual whose date of death oc18 curs before a payment under this section is nego19 tiated (in the case of a check) or deposited (in the 

20 case of a direct deposit), such payment shall not be 

21 due and shall not be reissued to the estate of such 

22 individual or to any other person. In no case shall 

23 payment be made to, or on behalf of, an individual 

24 who is not alive at the time of issuance or 

25 reissuance. 


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1 (5) TIMING AND MANNER OF PAYMENTS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

3 Treasury shall commence disbursing payments 

4 under this section at the earliest practicable 

5 date in 2011. The Secretary of the Treasury 

6 may disburse any payment electronically to an 

7 individual in such manner as if such payment 

8 was a benefit payment or cash benefit to such 

9 individual under the applicable program de10 scribed in subparagraph (B) or (C) of para11 graph (1). 

12 (B) DEADLINE.—No payments shall be 

13 disbursed under this section after December 31, 

14 2011, regardless of any determinations of enti15 tlement to, or eligibility for, such payments 

16 made after such date. 

17 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF RECIPIENTS.—The Commis18 sioner of Social Security, the Railroad Retirement Board, 

19 and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall certify the in20 dividuals entitled to receive payments under this section 

21 and provide the Secretary of the Treasury with the infor22 mation needed to disburse such payments. A certification 

23 of an individual shall be unaffected by any subsequent de24 termination or redetermination of the individual’s entitle25 ment to, or eligibility for, a benefit specified in subparaVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:02 Jul 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590

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1 graph (B) or (C) of subsection (a)(1) (except that such 

2 certification shall be affected by a determination that an 

3 individual is an individual described in subparagraph (D) 

4 of subsection (a)(4) during a period described in such sub5 paragraph), and no individual shall be certified to receive 

6 a payment under this section if such individual has at any 

7 time been denied certification for such a payment by rea8 son of subparagraph (A)(ii) or (C)(ii) of subsection (a)(4) 

9 (unless such individual is subsequently determined not to 

10 have been an individual described in either such subpara11 graph at the time of such denial). 

12 (c) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS.— 

13 (1) PAYMENT TO BE DISREGARDED FOR PUR14 POSES OF ALL FEDERAL AND FEDERALLY ASSISTED

15 PROGRAMS.—A payment under subsection (a) shall 

16 not be regarded as income and shall not be regarded 

17 as a resource for the month of receipt and the fol18 lowing 9 months, for purposes of determining the 

19 eligibility of the recipient (or the recipient’s spouse 

20 or family) for benefits or assistance, or the amount 

21 or extent of benefits or assistance, under any Fed22 eral program or under any State or local program fi23 nanced in whole or in part with Federal funds. 

24 (2) PAYMENT NOT CONSIDERED INCOME FOR

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1 section (a) shall not be considered as gross income 

2 for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

3 (3) PAYMENTS PROTECTED FROM ASSIGN4 MENT.—The provisions of sections 207 and 

5 1631(d)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 407, 1383(d)(1)), section 14(a) of the Railroad Re7 tirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231m(a)), and sec8 tion 5301 of title 38, United States Code, shall 

9 apply to any payment made under subsection (a) as 

10 if such payment was a benefit payment or cash ben11 efit to such individual under the applicable program 

12 described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection 

13 (a)(1). 

14 (4) PAYMENTS SUBJECT TO OFFSET AND REC15 LAMATION.—Notwithstanding paragraph (3)— 

16 (A) any payment made under this section 

17 shall, in the case of a payment of a direct de18 posit, be subject to the reclamation provisions 

19 under subpart B of part 210 of title 31, Code 

20 of Federal Regulations (relating to reclamation 

21 of benefit payments); and 

22 (B) any payment made under this section 

23 shall not, for purposes of section 3716 of title 

24 31, United States Code, be considered a benefit 

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1 cable program described in subparagraph (B) 

2 or (C) of subsection (a)(1), and all amounts 

3 paid shall be subject to offset to collect delin4 quent debts. 

5 (d) PAYMENT TO REPRESENTATIVE PAYEES AND FI6 DUCIARIES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which an in8 dividual who is entitled to a payment under sub9 section (a) and whose benefit payment or cash ben10 efit described in paragraph (1) of that subsection is 

11 paid to a representative payee or fiduciary, the pay12 ment under subsection (a) shall be made to the indi13 vidual’s representative payee or fiduciary and the en14 tire payment shall be used only for the benefit of the 

15 individual who is entitled to the payment. 

16 (2) APPLICABILITY.— 

17 (A) PAYMENT ON THE BASIS OF A TITLE

18 II OR SSI BENEFIT.—Section 1129(a)(3) of the 

19 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)(3)) 

20 shall apply to any payment made on the basis 

21 of an entitlement to a benefit specified in para22 graph (1)(B)(i) or (1)(C) of subsection (a) in 

23 the same manner as such section applies to a 

24 payment under title II or XVI of such Act. 


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1 (B) PAYMENT ON THE BASIS OF A RAIL2 ROAD RETIREMENT BENEFIT.—Section 13 of 

3 the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. 231l) 

4 shall apply to any payment made on the basis 

5 of an entitlement to a benefit specified in para6 graph (1)(B)(ii) of subsection (a) in the same 

7 manner as such section applies to a payment 

8 under such Act. 

9 (C) PAYMENT ON THE BASIS OF A VET10 ERANS BENEFIT.—Sections 5502, 6106, and 

11 6108 of title 38, United States Code, shall 

12 apply to any payment made on the basis of an 

13 entitlement to a benefit specified in paragraph 

14 (1)(B)(iii) of subsection (a) in the same manner 

15 as those sections apply to a payment under that 

16 title. 

17 SEC. 3. SPECIAL CREDIT FOR CERTAIN GOVERNMENT RE18 TIREES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible indi20 vidual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax 

21 imposed by subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 

22 1986 for the first taxable year beginning in 2011 an 

23 amount equal $250 ($500 in the case of a joint return 

24 where both spouses are eligible individuals). 


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1 (b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 

2 section— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible indi4 vidual’’ means any individual— 

5 (A) who receives during the first taxable 

6 year beginning in 2011 any amount as a pen7 sion or annuity for service performed in the em8 ploy of the United States or any State, the Dis9 trict of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the 

10 United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, 

11 and the Northern Mariana Islands, or any in12 strumentality thereof, which is not considered 

13 employment for purposes of chapter 21 of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and 

15 (B) who does not receive a payment under 

16 section 2 during such taxable year. 

17 (2) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER REQUIREMENT.— 

18 Such term shall not include any individual who does 

19 not include on the return of tax for the taxable 

20 year— 

21 (A) such individual’s social security ac22 count number, and 

23 (B) in the case of a joint return, the social 

24 security account number of one of the taxpayers 

25 on such return. 


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1 For purposes of the preceding sentence, the social 

2 security account number shall not include a TIN (as 

3 defined in section 7701(a)(41) of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986) issued by the Internal Revenue 

5 Service. Any omission of a correct social security ac6 count number required under this subparagraph 

7 shall be treated as a mathematical or clerical error 

8 for purposes of applying section 6213(g)(2) of such 

9 Code to such omission. 

10 (c) TREATMENT OF CREDIT.— 

11 (1) REFUNDABLE CREDIT.—The credit allowed 

12 by subsection (a) shall be treated as allowed by sub13 part C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of 

14 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

15 (2) DEFICIENCY RULES.—For purposes of sec16 tion 6211 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the 

17 credit allowable by subsection (a) shall be treated in 

18 the same manner as a credit specified in section 

19 6211(b)(4)(A) of such Code is treated. 

20 (d) REFUNDS DISREGARDED IN THE ADMINISTRA21 TION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND FEDERALLY AS22 SISTED PROGRAMS.—Any credit or refund allowed or 

23 made to any individual by reason of this section shall not 

24 be taken into account as income and shall not be taken 

25 into account as resources for the month of receipt and the 


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1 following 2 months, for purposes of determining the eligi2 bility of such individual or any other individual for benefits 

3 or assistance, or the amount or extent of benefits or assist4 ance, under any Federal program or under any State or 

5 local program financed in whole or in part with Federal 

6 funds. 

Æ 


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