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Congressional Response: Representative Nita Lowey (D,NY) Responds to Your Cola Petition
I share your disappointment with the small rise in Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in recent years and agree that action needs to be taken to address this problem. As you know, annual cost of living adjustments in Social Security benefits are designed to help seniors living on a fixed income keep up with inflation. Over the past few years, the inflation rate has been very low, and COLAs have been correspondingly low. However, although the overall rate of inflation may be low, other expenses have increased substantially. For example, the costs of health care, prescription drugs, and housing continue to increase dramatically. This is extremely troubling, especially for seniors. In addition to fighting for a real Medicare prescription drug benefit to bring down your expenses, I have also cosponsored H.R. 2262, legislation that would allow Social Security COLAs to be calculated using a consumer price index specifically tailored to seniors. This would result in a higher COLA and bigger Social Security payments. You can count on me to continue to fight for this and other legislation to ensure that you receive the benefits you earned through a lifetime of hard work. May 2004 | ||||||||
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