HR 1583 · 115th Congress 2017–2019, ended

Protecting Our Widows and Widowers in Retirement (POWR) Act

Introduced Mar 16, 2017 Originated House Sponsor Linda T. Sánchez D-CA

Latest action · Mar 24, 2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedMar 16, 2017
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Protecting Our Widows and Widowers in Retirement (POWR) Act

This bill increases Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits for widows or widowers in two-income households by establishing an alternative benefit based on combined household benefits.

Cosponsors 17

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 16, 2017 to Jun 28, 2017; 16 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-CA	Barbara Lee	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-NY	Brian Higgins	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-NH	Carol Shea-Porter	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-MI	Debbie Dingell	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-DC	Eleanor Holmes Norton	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-CA	Grace F. Napolitano	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-WI	Gwen Moore	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-IL	Janice D. Schakowsky	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-MI	John Conyers, Jr.	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-OH	Joyce Beatty	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-OH	Marcy Kaptur	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-WI	Mark Pocan	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-CA	Ro Khanna	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-VA	Robert C. "Bobby" Scott	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-TN	Steve Cohen	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-CA	Tony Cárdenas	Original	Mar 16, 2017
D-CA	Jerry McNerney		Jun 28, 2017

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Ways and Means Committee	Referred Mar 16, 2017
	Social Security Subcommittee	Referred Mar 24, 2017

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

Mar 24, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.
Mar 16, 2017Introduced in House
Mar 16, 2017Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article One, section 8, clause 18: Congress shall have Power--To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department of Officer thereof.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 46, March 16, 2017, page H2150.

Related bills 4

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
HR 1540	Protecting Our Widows and Widowers in Retirement (POWR) Act	Reintroduced Bill	Mar 5, 2019
S 2484	SSN Act	Related bill	Mar 1, 2018
HR 2855	Social Security for Future Generations Act of 2017	Related bill	Jun 20, 2017
HR 6929	Strengthening Social Security Act of 2018	Related bill	Sep 27, 2018

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to improve social security benefits for widows and widowers in two-income households.
Short Titles as Introduced: Protecting Our Widows and Widowers in Retirement (POWR) Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Social Welfare.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Mar 16, 2017Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.