Social Security for Future Generations Act of 2019
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 Health.
Social Security for Future Generations Act of 2019
This bill increases specified benefits and taxes related to the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program and otherwise modifies the program.
Changes to benefits include
increasing the primary insurance amount for certain beneficiaries;
revising the method for calculating cost-of-living adjustments by using a price index that tracks the spending patterns of older consumers;
extending benefits through age 22 to full-time students who are eligible children of deceased, disabled, or retired workers;
establishing a new minimum benefit for certain lifetime low-earners; and
establishing an alternative benefit based on combined household benefits for widows or widowers in two-income households.
Changes to taxes include subjecting earnings in excess of $250,000 to Social Security taxes. No taxes shall be applied to earnings between the contribution base (the maximum amount subject to the Social Security payroll tax, set at $137,700 for 2020) and $250,000.
In addition, the bill preserves eligibility for Supplemental Security Income payments and other means-tested programs by limiting the amount of OASDI payments considered in eligibility determinations.
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 30, 2019. 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 July 31, 2019: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
Al Lawson (D-FL) introduced it on July 30, 2019, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Democrats.
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 30, 2019, 2599 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2598 days ago, on July 31, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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