Social Insecurity?

Bill H.R. 5987, the Seniors Protection Act, was voted down earlier today in both the Senate and House of Representatives. The bill was meant to to award $250 checks to Social Security recipients facing a second consecutive year without a cost-of-living increase. Due to the recent changes from the November elections, the bill fell short of the 2/3 majority in the House and was 7 votes away from the 60 necessary votes to advance the bill in the Senate. According to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, "the financial aid act was critical to seniors facing rising costs and falling home values and was fiscally responsible". However, notes from the GOP say that seniors "fared statistically better than the rest of the economy... the poverty rate increased for all Americans last year, but fell for people aged 65 and over".

As we learned in lecture, three core things must all line up for a bill to successfully become a law. Public opinion, interest group influence and support, and government personnel. After the November 2010 elections, it is quite clear that newly Republican dominated House and 6 seat swing in the Senate are not conducive to the approval of the Seniors Protection Act. Our economy has certainly not yet fully recovered and the federal budget deficit is enormous, making the idea of spending more money absolutely repulsive to the public. And although the AARP fully supported the bill, it was not enough to make a difference in the vote.

Perhaps when the tide of public opinion changes there can be some success with this motion.