partnership with former agriculture secretary dan .lickman later, reporter stephen all -- stephen ohlemacher describes how social security recipients might be affected without a cost of living increase in benefits. ♪ host: congress gets back to work this week. back from the columbus day break. president obama in washington at the white house meeting with c ceos talking about climate change. monday, october 19. welcome to "washington journal." we begin with the news that social security beneficiaries would not be getting a cost-of-living increase in 2016 due to the low inflation rate people we hear from your experiences. republicans, 202-748-8001.

democrats call 202-748-8000. .ndependents, use 202-748-8002 we've set aside a special line for those of you getting social security benefits. that number is 202-748-8003. you can join the conversation online, on facebook, send us a or send us an e-mail at journal@c-span.org. starting the program, we explore a little bit more in-depth in our last segment. the news in the "l.a. times says it all. social security increase unlikely next year, blame gas prices. they write that "for just the third time in 30 years, millions of social security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees can expect no increase in benefits next year. unwelcome news for more than 1/5 of the nation's population.

they can blame no gas prices. the cost-of-living of living adjustment, cola, is based on a government measure of inflation, being dragged down by lower prices at it pump. the government is scheduled to announce the, or lack thereof." a piece from the washington post, their leader editorial sunday, how congress could fix a social security glitch. they write that there was practically no inflation. 60 million people living on social security not be getting an adjustment and their benefits. you think that is a good news story or a neutral one. what is not to like about older americans holding steady economically? alas, they write, due to a little-known law, this situation is creating havoc in the federal entitlement system, specifically

in medicare. in years when social security beneficiaries get no inflation bump, their medicare premiums cannot go up. consequently, writes the post editorial board, 15 million seniors are looking at premium spikes of up to 50% for part b. the program that covers outpatient care. a typical increase would be $105-$159 a month. that is the editorial from the washington post on sunday. as a look at some of the overall figures from social security, raise onl security hold. we will show you the rays over the last couple years. this goes back all the way to 1975 and shows the bump up and down in social security increases. the cost of living adjustment. here you can see relatively flat

the last two or three years. we are asking for your experiences and your thoughts on the benefits staying the same as we head into 2016. virgil is on our democrats line in las vegas. go ahead. las vegas, nevada. caller: do you hear me? host: yes. go ahead. caller: the cost of living is much higher than it is being stated. what i am discovering is there are companies that put up products like breakfast cereal, i noticed on my granola bars, they reduce the content by two ounces on a granola bar. so what they are doing is reducing the content and the price of the same. -- price is the same. reduction in content is not reflected in cost of living. host: you are paying the same

for something but you are not getting as much? caller: yes. they do not give you as much product. that is not a new concept. selling things in the stores. it has been around. i have been buying a box of cough drops with 10 called reps it. all of a sudden they start putting 18. you are paying more and getting less co products. host: is part of your income social security? caller: yes, all of it. host: i appreciate your comments. i want to remind you we have a special line, 202-748-8003, for social security beneficiaries. the lackking you about of a cost-of-living increase in 2016. virgil's comments were similar to a caller last week on a

different topic. to sayto what he had about inflation and the way it is gauged in this country. [video clip] caller: i'm retired. over the last seven years, it seems that almost everything i purchased has doubled in price. there no to the fed, inflation. i do not believe the government figures. it seems to me that they are constantly doing qe. they had zero percent interest rates. if you are a little guy with money in the bank, you are getting nothing for your interest. social security never goes up. all because they're supposedly is no inflation. host: so, no cost-of-living increased and 2016. the other side of that, a headline in the wall street journal, medicare rates set to soar unless congress acts. premiums for part b could rise 52% for some seniors.

harry is a social security beneficiary in pittsburgh. go ahead. caller: hi. that last guy hit everything on the head. betweenast six years, -- my wife just got on it --. i got $72 total. people onto give welfare $80 a month for food stamps. i worked for 50 years. these people do not work at all. i cannot understand. the last guy was a democrat. seldom do you see a democrat call on these shows and say something. office andis guy an he has done nothing for anybody except people that do not work. he has -- he's looked at as a punk but puting. you keep voting for people like this. host: what do you think the president can do, given that some of this is baked in to law.

are-of-living increases based on inflation index. what do you suppose the president or congress can do? caller: they can look into the truth, inflation has risen. food went up. a couplewent up to $4 years ago, we did not get extra money. they said there was no inflation . that is the story people have been coming up with for the last the last because of the global warming nonsense. food is up. you buy things to fix your house, they are up. everything is at the point where it is ridiculous and they're are saying there is no cost-of-living over the last year? open your eyes, people. look at your bills. honestly say that there is no increase in cost of living. is seattle. greg is a social security recipient. what do you think when you heard the news last week about this?

i thought it was awful. the pump, it is about the grocery store. the grocery store co-op, rent increases. i live in the seattle area and that is one of the most expensive areas in the country. it gets more expensive all the time. why do you suppose social security does not take that into account? you are reflecting the comments of several callers so far. is, the peopleng that come up with these adjustments, they make a lot of money. they have absolutely no field of what it is to be living on this type of income. store,u go to a grocery they hardly even look at the prices of anything. they are just ok, well, run it

through the car, no big thing. the accounts are so heavy and robust that if you are living from check to check on this income, you see the money in your bank code down very rapidly. with the price increases -- it is everywhere -- grocery stores, restaurants. basically anymore i do not go to restaurants that much anymore. restaurant and you pretty much dropped a 20. indiscriminately. you go to a mcdonald's or jack-in-the-box or burger king, you are dropping 10 or $12. i mean, the prices of everywhere are going up. the pumps, i could not give a rat's ass about the pumps because i do not drive. i go in every year and get a

pass, a reduced fare pass and use that. the gas pumps do not mean anything to me. for your call. just to set the scene in terms of the number of people 50 9ving social security, million, over 59 million americans receive some sort of social security benefits. about $72 billion paid in benefits monthly. retired workers get on average $1300 monthly. disabled workers get about $1100 monthly. some challenges for social olderty, 79 million americans are estimated by the year 2035 due to the baby boom. 3 workers currently for each beneficiary. workers there will be 2 for each beneficiary. asking about your reaction and

how you are dealing with the news that more social security beneficiaries, there will be no increase in payment in 2016. in california, our republican line. host: i have a comment regarding -- caller: i have a comment regarding the social security cost of living not increase. how can we afford to give benefits to all these people from other countries -- syria, illegally coming in here? how can we afford to give them perks when we cannot afford to give our own people a maker cost-of-living raise? ok.: we go to nora, receiving benefits. go ahead. caller: i think it is ridiculous and outrageous. a 1.4%ar, we only got increase. , social seniors

security is their primary income. i have a penchant and -- i have eight -- i have a pension and ira's and stuff like that. they need to change how they look at that. people who cannot find jobs, young people cannot find jobs. they need to give people benefits. they can spend all this money on the wars. like the lady said, even spend on people that are not even citizens of this country. thethey cannot -- shame on united states. congress gets paid on this money. work 180 days out of 365. this congress back to work week. a statement from the social security administration on the no benefit increase says that with consumer prices down, monthly social security and supplemental social security income benefits for nearly 65 million americans will not

automatically increase in 2016. our evious caller talked about pensions and such. news from the "atlanta journal-constitution," courtesy of the newseum in washington, a headline about georgia's pension system. they say that georgia's pension system for state employees saw a $300 million decline in assets during the recently completed fiscal year. as a volatile stock market and rising payouts to the retiring workforce affected the fund's bottom line. reports released by the department of audits and accounts last week showed pouring anre ever-increasing amount of money into the employee retirement teachernd a separate retirement system, which pay benefits to more than 150,000 state workers and educators. read more at ajc.com.

202-748-8001 for republican callers. 202-748-8000 for democratic callers. 202-748-8002 for independents. for social security beneficiaries, 202-748-8003. dave on our republican line in indiana. hi.er: time.y c-span all the being from indiana, i just enjoyed the story before this about "run, mitch, run." very, i want to agree with some of the people. that save money and prepare for their investments and so forth. ago with 14%years

interest rates on her savings. she had saved a lot of money because of interest rates that gradually went up and up. now the interest rates are zero. and shouldt congress revise the formula to take into account that if some portion of income is reduced by the actions of the fed, it should be taken into account in the calculations. host: what else are you doing to prepare for your retirement? caller: i tried to save money. frankly, i got on social security disability and there was a limit on how much i could make. that cut into my ability to save. that is something that needs to be remedied. but that is off of your subject. you are on social

security disability? we lost him. we will go to tom. an, texas.m be caller: hello, am i on? host: you are. go ahead. caller: i just noticed recently that a federal government has done, like the 500 million dollars they spent on an invisible army in syria. pat is one little point. there are many other wastes that they do. the lifebloody is of many people. i happen to know one woman that is doing all she can to put her family together. she gets less than $600 a month. personyou to show me one , one person, that can stand proudly and say i can live on $600 a month. that is absolutely ridiculous.

why can theye -- not give cola for people who need it? thank you. host: thank you. more of your calls and comments momentarily on social security. congress returns this week, back from the columbus day break and we are joined by jordan carney, who covers capitol hill for "the first?what is up when we last left the house, things were in a state of chaos in terms of the speaker position. everyone in washington is wondering what congressman paul ryan will do. the speaker is on pause until he makes his decision. carney, having a little trouble hearing you. it is breaking up a little bit. guest: is this better?

host: that is better. agenda thiss a full week. can you tell us about some things they will be picking up? are you there? we willwe lost jordain, get back to her shortly. is onton, georgia, joe the line. talking about social security and no benefit increase in 2016. hello. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. can you hear me? host: shorthand, go ahead. the way they figure the cola increase has been changed. they keep adjusting the way they figure it. if you look at the way they figured it 10 or 15 years ago, inflation is running about 8% right now. that is really still low.

but they have to adjust these figures. because if they told us the real figures, everyone would think we are bankrupt. and that is the reason they cannot increase anything anymore. they had already decreased bank accounts and it continues to take away benefits from us. i wonder if congress got there pay increase this year. and all the other related expenditures, just like so many previous callers have talked about. we are wasting billions of to questionable military activities when people here are really hurting. host: jail in georgia. we go to texas to hear from bill on the republican line. you're a social security beneficiary.

caller: that's correct. thanks for taking my call. i have a couple comments about how to retain social security benefits. people who have paid in their entire lives. number one, we move -- remove the cap from social security. you earned so much money per year, once you hit that cap, ton you no longer pay in social security. it kind of ends at that point. the next thing i would like to comment on is the push for the $15 an hour minimum wage. a kind of makes sense that standard worker that is going to be making $15 an hour, that should be also required for social security benefits as well. it makes total sense to me. i think congress needs to get together, quit they talk about dropping benefits.

nobodylike medicare, stops that from going up. it goes up every year. your benefits dropped as well. there are a lot of things that congress needs to do to fix the problem. yearu make over $150,000 a in retirement in the -- and retirement benefits, i don't think you need social security benefits. how much is social security part of your retirement planning? 100%.: unfortunately, i'm trying to save the savings that i built up over the years. with the increases in health medicare, itce, increases with all the bills. that is dwindling away. host: do you mind sharing with us how much the monthly check is

from social security? caller: i would rather not. host: that is fine. barely it is enough to pay the bills without all the other increases. i am probably having to go stand in line somewhere and get a job. your benefits are capped with that as well. you can make a certain amount before it affects your social security benefit payments. you are kind of at a quandary. host: i appreciate you sharing your experience with us. carney is capitol hill reporter for "the hill." we left off talking about the speaker's race. that is where the house left

off, unable to decide on who the next speaker will be. is the next step? everyone this week is waiting to see what congressman paul ryan will do. if he decides not to run, a kind of becomes a free-for-all. it is not a question of who will run but who will not run. to get downuse has to business and has a fairly full agenda. tell us what we will see this week on the house and senate floor? guest: the house is actually taking up legislation that would , republicans say, would present the country from defaulting on its debt. democrats criticized the bill, saying that it would prioritize payments to foreign countries versus social security and things like that here it on the senate side we are going to see them taking a procedural vote on

a sanctuary cities built. legislation that would crack down on cities that do not comply with federal immigration laws fromis getting pushback western state republicans who have concerns about the mandatory minimum punishment it would establish. a lot of attention off the floor of the house will be focused on the select committee on benghazi with former secretary of state hillary clinton set to testify this thursday. coverage thereve is 10:00 a.m.. what is the timeline for the select committee? more hearings are they set to have? when is there a deadline for getting some sort of report out? that is what democrats are wanting to know. republicans have really been going out there and defending ,his committee because comments saying this is important work. they're trying to figure out what happened in libya.

democrats are saying this committee has gone on longer than others. .he watergate, for example they are suggesting maybe it is time to wrap it up. the republicans have shown no signs in being interested in doing that. host: jordain carney, read mara for -- read more of her reporting on thehill.com we will be covering the benghazi hearing thursday at 10:00 eastern on c-span3, c-span radio and online on c-span.org. the issue boiled into the weekend talk shows on "face the nation." here's the headline in "the new york times," a partisan volley. tension's between the leaders of the house committee investigating the attacks in libya erupted four days before hillary clinton is scheduled to testify at a hearing. as the committee's chairman,

of south carolina prepared to go on television to provide his defense of the investigation of the committee's , elijah cummings, released information undercutting one of trey gowdy's allegations about mrs. clinton's use of her private e-mail. i want to show you some comments that trey gowdy and elijah cummings, the ranking democrat on the committee, starting with congressman gowdy. [video clip] --we've done said they we have done 50 witnesses, one of whom you could argue was related to her e-mail exclusively. lessve 50,000 documents, than 5% have anything to do with secretary clinton. she is one witness. by the time we are done, we will have interviewed 70 witnesses. i get that she gets more attention than the other 69 but

frankly the eyewitnesses on the ground that night in benghazi are more important to me as a former prosecutor than the former secretary of state. >> have you looked at the evidence in your own party that says -- about the political committee. is that enough to start an investigation as to whether this is politically motivated? >> there are three people who do not have any idea what they are talking about. my colleagues have never asked for an update on our committee. they could not name three witnesses waived talk to. they cannot tell you a document production we have received good the former staffer left in june so he has no idea what we've done since june. in his allegation, he never said it until he sat down with someone in your profession last friday. these three would not even be called as a witness in my former

job because they have no firsthand knowledge. [video clip] >> it is interesting that after 17 months, when $7 million of taxpayer money, that chairman gowdy is saying he has another two dozen witnesses to interview. it is very interesting. and what he has tried to do, i listen to him very carefully, he is trying to shift back to where we should have been all along. that is looking at the benghazi incident. dismiss the words of congressman mccarthy, the second-highest ranking member in congress here he can try to dismiss the words of congressman hannah. and of his handpicked investigator who quit. he keeps saying do not listen to what they are saying. he said there were seven

members, there are also five democrats. we know what is going on. listen to this. interviewed the head of the cia. he brought in ms. aberdeen. he has not yet interviewed you mentioned the advisor to hillary clinton. is this a sham on thursday? a sad day foris all of us. we made a commitment to the families. the families came in with tears in her eyes, literally, and said, please do not make this a political football. that is exactly what is happening. they said, find out more information about what did happen, and they asked us to do one other thing. that is try to make sure you figure out how this does not happen again. i think we failed at all three. host: just a reminder,

thursday's hearing, live on c-span 3 at 10:00 eastern, and also on c-span radio and c-span or. former secretary of state hillary clinton testifying for the select committee. back to our conversation this the lack of a cost-of-living increase and social security for 2016. here is the headline from "washington post," "bad news for seniors: note: next year." ism twitter, ssi trust making little money on it surplus because fed is keeping interest rates low. tag says, the drop in oil prices has lowered inflation numbers. fred says, government cannot afford to pay all the retirees, the country needs jobs of workers. john in north carolina says, since when did an investment yield returns based on inflation?

to gwen, thanks for waiting in detroit, democrats line. caller: thank you. i missed the first five minutes. i just want to thank you for having me on. what i want to know is you will have somebody come on after this to talk about social security, or are we just doing this with people calling in? aboutan e-mail posted someone asking about the oil prices. , that that hasat something to do with people not getting an increase because the oil prices are going down. that is where i wanted to know. will there be someone coming on to discuss that aspect of it? host: a little later in the program, at 9:15, it will be the topic of our your money segment. stephen ohlemacher of associated

press has been covering this issue. we wanted to give folks who tune in early a chance to weigh in on the conversation. will joinn ohlemacher us and we will continue the conversation that. -- conversation then. caller: thank you. host: here we go to anthony in new jersey. caller: thank you for taking my call. i feel that you do a very balanced job on the news. caller hasthat the not changed is because of the .roduct mix some of the products have more weight than others. the government may take into account that flat screens dropped 10%. one flatmore than screen per month? in.t: to texas, curv

independent line? hello there? one more time. caller: can you hear me? host: yes, we can. go ahead. hoping thet i'm people of the united states are what they're telling m, the republican party, is they will cut social security out. they are doing what they say they will do. i believe, if we get a republican president, the congress, and the house, there will not be no more social security. they are constantly telling

people they will do away with it, we can't afford it. they will put it in the stock market. if the stock market fails, they will have anything, no income. this is for the future, a taste of the future. thank you. post,"the washington writes it is the third time in 40 years, all them during the obama demonstration, that the social security mr.'s's and has not increased its payments. they write that the consumer anduct index is based on assessment of inflation, being gas in check by increasing production and lower prices at the pump. fell .2%or all items in september after decline of .1% in august. the lack of an inflation

adjustment probably means there will be no change for 2016 and investments. democrats in congress have theoduced bills to free premium and is artful for 2016, but the chances for passage are uncertain. arkansas, this is richard. go ahead. caller: thank you for c-span. i have one year to go for retirement at 62. i'm 61. i just got laid off. man, the prices are terrible. currently, my wife and i are selling everything we own, and our house. i have to make it one year before i even eligible. now, they are saying you will not get much. it is terrible. may i say one thing that might interest you viewers? host: of course, go ahead.

plaque,i have the the brass plaque off the uss el dorado. i never wanted to sell it, but i have to. it is horrible. i've had a grudge sell going on for one week now. no one has any money. i don't know how we are going to make it here. now, i hear this that social security will not get an increase. man. things are bad. thank you. in arkansasr caller , charles on the republican line. caller: good morning. everybody is complaining about

prices going up. we voted for someone who wanted to give them -- raise the minimum wage. where do you think these small businesses will get the money to pay those wages. the prices went up because of that. employers are going out of business because of the practices they voted for. this all comes back to -- i into socialaid security for 63 years. i got it all back in about six years. i've been on the dole ever since. people don't have any idea what they put in. they just think that money is there forever and ever. in 15 years, when all collapses, it won't be there. host: let's go to our democrats line in maryland, ron, hello. caller: i'm a registered

democrat, and a retiree. is problem that i have soricans have sacrificed much, and yet they get so little. every time i turned around, the news media has always said americans must sacrifice, americans must sacrifice, but we are not getting back anything in return for our sacrifice. my whole family has been in all , and we are retired. we're trying to make ends meet on a retirement, and it's hard. listen to your viewers. it seems like most americans know that all these issues that we are having, but yet, no one is doing anything to resolve any of these issues. does anybody way -- know how we can get the politicians out of the way?

for example, i'm a registered democrat, and yet, when donald trump says things like we need to stop illegal we need to stop illegal immigrants from coming over here and collect welfare, money security, that is out of our pockets. once we get into a surplus, and we have plenty of money, then, that is something we can do. right now, we cannot afford to do any of that. donaldon talks about trump. from "washington post," they write that outside groups raise cash, but there is no coordination. bragged that he is turning down millions of dollars for his presidential campaign, donald a steady lineled of attack against his rivals, that they are too cozy against

big-money super pac's, and may be breaking the law by coordinating with them. anyone'si do not need money. when he doesn't say is that he and his top campaign aide have connections to a super pac, collecting large checks to support his candidacy. mp appeared atu at least two events for the "great make america great pac, which took its name campaign.his asking you about social security and the cost of living increase that will not be happening in 2016. here is a tweet from george that says i bet the do-nothing

republican congress gives themselves ala -- cola. from wisconsin, lorraine, go ahead. i'm on social and security. only luxury i have is cable tv, so i think it c-span. i drive a 1997 car. i don't buy anything new. i may be eat at mcdonald's twice a week. everybody iss iding the social security fund. they go out on cruises, and everything else. my cruise is five miles from home to go to the church and drugstore. if you want to know how you live on social security, you are barely living.

raiding that fund and wasting all the money for something else. thank you. host: we go to vincent who is in florida, democrats line. people my question is theybeen penalized because don't have a car, why would they have to pay. host: are you still there? we will go next to rick in indiana, independent line. hello. go ahead. indiana? caller: can you hear me? host: yes. caller: 63 years old, in the hospital. well i can't get through or understand is once social

security was meant as a supplement for people's retirement. the rate are figuring of inflation every year, they say, we are not going to consider fuel prices and food prices. yet, when they are figuring out a cola for social security, that is figured right in there. the department of labor says there is 5% unemployment, yet they do not consider the number of people who have given up. just had to bring it up. thanks for c-span. you for tuning in. news from canada, it is election day in canada. here is a piece in "the washington post." son ofte that the a man who brought entertainment to politics in the late 1960's is favorite to become canada's next prime minister.

host: we will be broadcasting the results tonight, beginning at 6:30 on c-span two. marcello, georgia, david, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i just want to comment on a caller from arkansas, and another one from maryland. it is refreshing to see that the caller from maryland in seeing a light. i hope that gets through to the rest of the state. the caller from arkansas who explained that he worked for 63 years and collected all of his benefits within six years. i'm also recipient, and i feel, as far as i can figure, i have been a recipient for 2.5 years, and