The Protect Our Seniors Act would add new Senate rules to protect Medicare and Social Security benefits from reductions and from being used to pay for unrelated policy provisions. Specifically, it creates two new points of order in the Senate. First, it would be out of order to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that would reduce Medicare or Social Security benefits unless a 2/3 majority votes to waive the rule. Second, it would prohibit using Medicare savings (as determined by the Congressional Budget Office) to offset the cost of provisions that are not intended to carry out Medicare, unless a 2/3 majority votes to sustain a waiver. The changes would require a high level of bipartisan support to override and would apply to the ordinary budget process in the Senate. In short, the bill is designed to harden protections for seniors by blocking benefit cuts and blocking budget offsets that rely on Medicare savings, except with a substantial 2/3 vote.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a Medicare and Social Security Point of Order: It shall be out of order to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that would reduce Medicare or Social Security benefits unless waived by a 2/3 Senate vote.
- 2Waiver mechanism for the point of order: A waiver (i.e., an exception to the rule) can only be granted by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members of the Senate.
- 3Medicare budget-offset point of order: It shall be out of order to consider measures that use a decrease in Medicare outlays or an increase in Medicare revenue to offset costs of provisions not related to Medicare, unless waived by 2/3.
- 4Waiver and appeal rules: A 2/3 vote is required to waive the Medicare offset point, and sustaining an appeal of a chair’s ruling on this point also requires a 2/3 vote.
- 5Scope: Applies to bills, resolutions, amendments, motions, and conference reports; the budget effects are determined by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).