Washington DC - A Social Security increase valued at $2,400 and championed by Senator Bernie Sanders was on Thursday blocked by Senator Mike Crapo and his GOP colleagues.

The Social Security Expansion Act, which was introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, would have expanded benefits by about $2,400 per year per recipient, providing vital cash to some of America's poorest people.

Sanders championed the bill in an impassioned Senate speech in which he lamented that many senior citizens have been left in a deplorable state of poverty despite the US' abundance of wealth.

"Instead of cutting Social Security and giving tax breaks to billionaires," Sanders said, "Congress must expand Social Security so that every senior in America can retire with the dignity and the respect that he or she deserves."

Donald Trump Trump shoots down vital Ukraine demands ahead of Zelensky visit

Sanders asked his colleagues to pass the measure by unanimous consent.

Rejecting Sanders' request, Republican Senator Mike Crapo blocked the attempt to pass the legislation and accused the Vermont independent of fear mongering.

Republicans' move to block Social Security expansion comes amid reports of potentially massive cuts at the Social Security Administration (SSA).

During a meeting on Tuesday, acting SSA commissioner Leland Dudek – who took over after Michelle King resigned – reportedly told managers to present him a plan for 50% staff reductions.

Advocates have warned that such drastic cuts would significantly impact the SSA's ability to provide services that millions of US citizens, many of whom have disabilities or are seniors, rely on every day to survive.

Donald Trump UN sounds alarm over Trump's "escalating" human rights attacks

The SSA's services are expected to become all the more crucial as Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues to devastate the US' already-sparse social safety net.

Musk, the mastermind behind cuts to USAID that could see thousands of children starve to death, is both an unelected official who hasn't even faced Senate approval and the richest man in the world.

"Now I know in a world here in Washington, where the government is now run by billionaires, $2,400 doesn't seem like a whole lot of money," Bernie Sanders told the Senate on Thursday.

"But if you're trying to get by on $15,000 a year, you can't afford to heat your house, can't afford to buy a prescription drug that you need, $2,400 is something that will help," the senator added.