Title: Fair COLA for Seniors Act of 2017
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Fair COLA for Seniors Act of 2017
This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to, with respect to OASDI benefits: (1) apply a 3.9% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for the second half of 2017, and (2) revise the computation of COLAs to use the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2896 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2896

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide a midyear cost-
of-living increase to account for an insufficient increase for 2017, to 
apply the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) to future Social 
                Security COLAs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 13, 2017

  Mr. Nolan 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 amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide a midyear cost-
of-living increase to account for an insufficient increase for 2017, to 
apply the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) to future Social 
                Security COLAs, 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 ``Fair COLA for Seniors Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. ONE-TIME COST-OF-LIVING (COLA) INCREASE FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2017.

    (a) 3.9% COLA Provided To Match Recent Growth in CEO Pay.--
Effective with the month of July 2017, the Commissioner of Social 
Security shall increase each of the amounts described in subclauses (I) 
through (III) of section 215(i)(2)(A)(ii) of the Social Security Act by 
3.9 percent.
    (b) No Effect on Annual Cost-of-Living Increases.--For purposes of 
applying subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 215(i)(1) of the Social 
Security Act in calendar years 2017 and 2018, the increase under 
subsection (a) shall not be considered a general benefit increase under 
title II of the Social Security Act.

SEC. 3. CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR ELDERLY CONSUMERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 215(i)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 415(i)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
            ``(H) the term `Consumer Price Index' means the Consumer 
        Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E, as published by the 
        Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor).''.
    (b) Application to Pre-1979 Law.--
            (1) In general.--Section 215(i)(1) of the Social Security 
        Act as in effect in December 1978, and as applied in certain 
        cases under the provisions of such Act as in effect after 
        December 1978, is amended by adding at the end the following 
        new subparagraph:
            ``(D) the term `Consumer Price Index' means the Consumer 
        Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E, as published by the 
        Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor).''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 215(i)(4) of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)(4)), as amended by section 
        2(a)(3) of this Act, is further amended by striking ``section 
        2'' and inserting ``sections 2 and 3''.
    (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, title VIII, 
or title XVI) 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 Fair COLA for Seniors Act of 
2017.''.
    (d) Publication of Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers.--The 
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor shall prepare and 
publish the index authorized by section 191 of the Older Americans 
Amendments Act of 1987 (29 U.S.C. 2 note) for each calendar month, 
beginning with July of the calendar year following the calendar year in 
which this Act is enacted, and such index shall be known as the 
``Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to determinations made under section 215(i)(2)(A)(i) 
of the Social Security Act with respect to base quarters occurring in 
2017 or later.
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