Expanding Social Security

Floor Speech

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Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, if nominated, I will not run.

This is an interesting subject, not only for the elderly like myself, but for young people who need to know about Social Security.

Many times, younger folks, like myself when I was younger, I didn't talk about Social Security too much. I didn't concern myself with what was going to happen when I was 65 years of age--or now 66, as the chairman pointed out.

But this is going to happen. I hate to tell you: You are going to get older. Mr. Speaker, you are going to get older. You are going to be 66, and then you are going to be 67, et cetera. Then you are going to have to address whether or not there is enough money in this insurance plan for you.

The chairman needs all the credit in the world because we are living in a time when people do not want to address the problems that every American is going to face. It doesn't matter whether you are this party or that party. You are going to be affected by it.

Many people treat Social Security like they treat their health: I am not sick. I am 25 years of age. I am healthy. Why in God's name do I need to be covered by insurance?

Does that sound familiar? We have a big debate going on as to whether we should mandate the Affordable Care Act. All boats have to rise, or they will all fall.

Secondly, let's put this into a timeframe, as Chairman Larson alluded to. Let's put it in a timeframe.

I compare it to, if I may, an analogy of apples and oranges. Allow me that, please. Give me license to do that.

I compare this to climate change. We started to talk about climate change on this floor--I wasn't here--25 years ago. We have been talking each issue to death, like we do a lot of problems, and we don't do anything.

Two new books just came out in the last week about climate change, more scientific evidence to prove, to support the idea that we are running out of time.

Our shorelines are moving. They are moving inland, not moving out, and this can lead to tremendous devastation.

We know many of these things happen in nature. I have heard that before. But many things are pushed by human behavior, and matters become worse.

And the same thing with Social Security. Presidents in the past, regardless of which party they belonged to, were always willing to make adjustments so that people had those benefits in this insurance program--not an entitlement, not an entitlement--so that there was always adjustments to take care of things.

We have approached that time. We are into that time, and we have got about 12 to 14 years to make up our mind what direction we are going to go in. And I suggest that this piece of legislation, which Mr. Larson has sponsored and I am proudly part of it, this legislation is actuarially acceptable. We know what is going to happen 30 years, 40 years from now.

If we do this legislation, we reduce the anxiety that is involved. And even though you are younger, Social Security affects you because you are paying into it. You don't even know sometimes that you are paying into it, but you are paying into it. You are paying into a social insurance program.

So what is going to happen if we do not address environmental issues is we will be choked to death, literally. That is not hyperbole; that is science. Sorry about that.

We will cut off food supplies. Some areas of the world are already being affected by that. And again, we will move our shorelines.

So, seniors, we need to educate younger people. They need to understand that Social Security takes care of the disabled for young and old. Younger Americans should be concerned and involved with this shrinking reserve in our insurance plan which we have paid into.

So, for too long, I think, in my estimation, the Congress has been silent in the face of this crisis. We are paralyzed on many of the issues. We don't want to act to make things better. We would rather they get worse, and maybe the heavens will open and they won't get worse anymore. I wouldn't count on that. Today we stand up to say the time for action is now. Seniors, families, future generations depend on it.

I talk with people in my district, the Ninth District of New Jersey, every day, even when I am down here, families that are dependent upon their Social Security check as their only means of income, and we are thinking in our heads that maybe we should cut benefits in order to make it better? That will make it worse. That will make it worse. Serious stuff.

So many people depend on Social Security. Think about it. You are 25 years old. Are you thinking about what is going to happen to you when you are 67 years of age and you are living--because you haven't saved enough, or you couldn't save enough, because most people don't have too much to spend day in, day out. We have seen those numbers over the past 3 months. Are you thinking about what is going to happen to you if you have to live on a Social Security check for which the benefits have been cut?

And we raised the age of being eligible for Social Security so we could fit and stretch the reserve a little longer. Raising the age is not solving the problem of when someone is eligible. People retire earlier in this day and age.

We must have courage to act in the face of challenges. Social Security is this insurance program which we want to protect and expand and help senior citizens and younger people and the disabled.

Those who pay into that reserve deserve to know they will be taken care of in their older years, that hard work, paying your dues still means something in the United States of America. Congress must take up this Social Security 2100 Act; they must take that up right now, without delay.

I think, in the Social Security Subcommittee, there are folks on the other side of the aisle who want to see a positive change, but they must have the courage to cross the line and make a decision.

The commitment that I made when I first ran for office in 1996, my first commitment when I ran against an incumbent in my district was this: Social Security will be one of my first priorities, my top three priorities in Congress, that I will try everything in my power to bolster Social Security, and I will never support diminishing the benefits of the insurance policy that I pay into and you pay into and everyone pays into. I think that that is critical.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman. I think that his courage in speaking out--and I am not blowing smoke. I mean this. The courage to speak out on these issues is going to have long-standing effects down the line, because when you are 25, you are not thinking about this. Let's be honest. I didn't. If you talked to me about Social Security when I was 25, I would have rather watched paint dry on a wall. How stupid that was.

You are going to get older, God willing, and you want something back from what you paid into. I mean, is that radical? I don't think that is a radical idea.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman's resolve in this matter--because the chairman has gone all over the country to talk about this legislation. He is serious about it. This is not a photo op. This is not a speech. This is something that needs to be digested, and then you act upon it.

You ask your Congressman: ``What are you doing about Social Security?'' Call him up and ask him: ``What are you doing about Social Security?''

Oh, the Congressman may answer: ``Well, you are not one of those who is going to lose sight of the fact that these are all things that are going to get solved sooner or later.''

``Yeah, but isn't the time shrinking?''

``Yes, the time is shrinking, but I am learning more about it.''

``What are you doing?''

Silence is golden. Silence makes no mistakes.

We need to do something about this now, Mr. Speaker. I commit to the gentleman: You can count on me. This is a sound program.

And, by the way, the COLA doesn't include some of the expenses that seniors go through, which makes it incredible.

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