Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Ravi Bhatia, Talk Radio News Service

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) were joined on Wednesday on Capitol Hill by senior citizens and other congressmen in order to support their bill, which would provide a one-time, $250 payment to more than 50 million seniors to match increasing costs of medical care and prescription drugs.

“Seniors, right now, are not rushing out to discount stores to buy laptop computers or iPods,” Sanders said. “What seniors now are purchasing...is healthcare prescription drugs. Seniors spend a disproportionate percentage of their limited incomes on healthcare and prescription drug needs.”

According to a release from Sanders and DeFazio, President of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Barbara B. Kennelly collected more than 120,000 signatures to support the legislation, which applies the social security payroll tax to household incomes above $250,000 and below $359,000 in 2010.

The current law deems that only the first $106,800 of a person’s claimed income is subject to the tax. No one earning $250,000 or less would see a tax increase under the bill.

In support of the legislation, seniors and others wore in attendance wore “Seniors Need A COLA [Cost-of-living Allowance]” pins.