WASHINGTON, DC – United States Senator Charles Schumer announced on Wednesday his continued support for legislation which would provide Social Security recipients, including those in Chenango County, with a one-time, $250 check.

The bill – which required a two-thirds majority in the house – failed to pass, by a vote of 254 to 153. The majority of house Democrats voted in favor of the bill, with 228 for versus 12 against, while 141 house Republicans voted against the measure, versus 26 who voted to see it passed. A 53 to 45 vote by the Senate Wednesday night fell seven short of the required 60 needed to avoid the expected filibuster.

Following a second straight year with no cost of living increase, area seniors are struggling due to higher health care costs, according to the senator, who said 175,000 seniors in the Broome County region would receive $44 million in Social Security payments if the legislation had passed. Nearly 13,000 Social Security recipients in Chenango County would have received $3,208,000 of that money.

Schumer called the senior population one of the hardest hit in these tough economic times and said he believed forcing them to go without a cost of living increase for a second straight year was unfair.