Forwarded message:
>From blazie.com!jgashel Wed Mar 6 14:11:51 1996 remote from pacifier
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 16:19:18 -0500 (EST)
From: Jim Gashel <jgashel@blazie.com>
To: Mike Freeman <mikef@pacifier.com>
Subject: Distribution notice
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.91.960306161551.10660A-100000@blazie.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
SOCIAL SECURITY EARNINGS LIMIT ALERT FROM: James Gashel
Director of Governmental Affairs DATE: March 6, 1996
This notice is being circulated to inform you of announced action in
the Senate on a bill to raise the Social Security earnings limit. The
bill, by Senator John McCain, is S. 1470. As reported from the Senate
Finance Committee, the linkage of the senior citizens' and blind persons'
earnings limits would be broken.
According to the Senate's currently announced schedule, the earnings
limit bill will be considered on the floor during the week of March 18.
At that time, Senator Jeff Bingaman (a Democrat from New Mexico) will
offer a linkage retention amendment. To prepare for this he is asking all
Senators to cosponsor the amendment.
The vote in the Senate on the linkage retention amendment is
absolutely critical!! A loss would mean that the earnings exemption for
seniors will be raised in 7 mandated steps to reach $30,000 a year in
2002. Meanwhile, the earnings limit for blind people would remain at
$11,520 except for the continuation of annual adjustments required under
present law. By 2002 the earnings limit for blind people would be less
than half the amount allowed for seniors.
The House has already passed a bill--H. R. 2684--breaking the
earnings exemption linkage. Approval by the Senate of the Bingaman
amendment will mean that a conference committee, consisting of Senators
and House members will decide the fate of the linkage provision. However,
the conference committee will not address the linkage issue at all unless
the Bingaman amendment passes in the Senate.
Everyone who supports retention of the linked earnings limits should
contact all Senators immediately to ask for a "yes" vote on the Bingaman
amendment to S. 1470. Give the greatest emphasis to the two Senators from
your state and then contact SOCIAL SECURITY EARNINGS LIMIT ALERT March 6,
1996 Page two others. To make these contacts, use the telephone, fax
machine, e-mail, regular mail, or personal contacts, and do anything else
you can think of to do. For the addresses, use the following information
and format, inserting the correct name in each case. The Honorable
(insert name) United States Senate Washington, D. C. 20510
A list of all Senators is available electronically on the web site of
the National Federation of the Blind at http://www.nfb.org, under the
heading: "National Legislation." The list is organized by state and
includes phone numbers. Fax numbers and staff contacts are also listed to
the extent available. E-mail addresses can be found in a separate list on
the web site. This list of the Senate e-mail addresses was also sent to
most of you in an earlier message.
The rest is up to each of us and all the initiative we can muster.
If we do our work well, there is no question that we can and will succeed.
JG/mrb
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