COLA Act of 2020

Bill: 116-hr-7765
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Walberg, Tim [R-MI-7]
Introduced: 2020-07-23
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Inflation and prices

Social security and elderly assistance
Latest action: action_date: 2020-07-23
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-07-23
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Certainty for Older Living Americans Act of 2020 or the COLA Act of 2020</b></p> <p>This bill sets out an alternative method to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits and requires the Social Security Administration to use whichever method results in a greater increase each year.</p> <p>The current method is based on the annual change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which may result in no or small increases to benefits in years with deflation or low inflation. The alternative method established by this bill is based on a 10-year average of cost-of-living adjustments.</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7765 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 23, 2020 Mr. Walberg introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for a minimum annual cost-of-living increase for Social Security benefits, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Certainty for Older Living Americans Act of 2020 or the COLA Act of 2020 . 2. Computation of cost-of-living increases (a) In general Section 215(i) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 415(i) ) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking with respect to which the applicable increase percentage is greater than zero; ; and (2) in paragraph (2)— (A) in subparagraph (A)— (i) in clause (ii), in the matter following subclause (III), by striking applicable increase percentage and inserting the increase percentage determined under clause (iv) for such year ; and (ii) by adding at the end the following: (iv) The increase percentage determined under this clause for a year shall be the greater of— (I) the applicable increase percentage with respect to a cost-of-living computation quarter in such year; or (II) the arithmetical mean of the increase percentages determined under this clause for each of the years in the 10-year period ending with the year before such year. ; and (B) in the first sentence of subparagraph (D), by striking and the percentage thereof and inserting , the percentage thereof, and the increase percentage determined under subparagraph (A)(iv) for the following year . (b) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to cost-of-living computation quarters ending on or after September 30, 2020.