On the eve of an announcement that for the first time in 35 years there will be no annual cost-of-living increase in Social Security and government retirees' pay, the White House on Wednesday was working with Congress to rush a $250 emergency payment into the hands of seniors, veterans and the disabled.

Congress would have to approve the payments, which White House officials estimate would cost $13 billion.

The Social Security Administration is expected to announce Thursday what has been anticipated for months: The dismal U.S. economy has been such a powerful drag on inflation that there will be no cost-of-living adjustment Dec. 1 in federal benefits that are linked to the Consumer Price Index.

That includes Social Security benefits; military and federal civilian retired pay; and veterans' disability, survivor and pension payments.

While retirees have complained that they see higher costs for everything, the market basket of goods and services used by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine consumer prices has been heavily influenced over the past year by falling oil and gasoline prices, which have a widespread effect on the Consumer Price Index because it involves direct transportation costs, heating costs, and even the cost of food and clothing — all expenses in which transportation is a key element.

The $250 payment looks small, but White House officials said it equals a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment for the typical Social Security recipient.

President Barack Obama has been pressed by lawmakers to do something in the face of almost certain protests from older Americans who have come to expect annual increases in Social Security and other federal benefits. But tinkering with the COLA formula set in law would set a precedent of replacing an automatic, inflation-matching process with a political decision.

Instead, the White House announced a plan that would put a small payment — the $250 check — into the hands of 1 million military and federal civilian retirees, 2 million veterans or survivors of veterans, 49 million Social Security beneficiaries, and 5 million people receiving Supplemental Security Income.

People who qualify under more than one category — such as a military retiree also receiving veterans disability compensation and Social Security — would receive only one $250 check under the proposal.

In a statement, Obama said he was acting "on behalf of those hardest hit by this recession."

"These payments will provide aid to more than 50 million people in the coming year, relief that will not only make a difference for them, but for our economy as a whole, complementing the tax cuts we've provided working families and small businesses through the Recovery Act," Obama said.

The $250 emergency payment is similar to the $250 economic recovery payment made to some people last year, including disabled veterans whose income was too low to qualify for tax rebates.

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