Supporting Our Seniors COLA Act of 2011
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Seniors Protection Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, for each non-cost-of-living (non-COLA) year, to disburse a cash payment to recipients of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) under title XVI of the Social Security Act, railroad retirement benefits, and veterans disability compensation or pension benefits.
Defines a non-COLA year as a 12-month period for which: (1) a cost-of-living adjustment is generally provided under the pertinent program in relation to an index; but (2) such an adjustment does not take effect by reason of the performance of that index.
Makes $250 the payment for any non-COLA year: (1) ending with or during 2011 or 2011, and (2) any non-COLA year not immediately preceded by another non-COLA year.
Makes the payment for any non-COLA year ending after 2011 which is immediately preceded by another non-COLA year the same as the payment for that immediately preceding non-COLA year, plus $50.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 29, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 23, 2011: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Paul Tonko (D-NY) introduced it on July 29, 2011. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 29, 2011, 5522 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5466 days ago, on September 23, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers