Social Security

Floor Speech

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Mr. LIEU. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Larson for yielding.

Democrats are focused on putting people over politics by lowering costs, increasing American jobs, and having safe communities.

What are Republicans focused on? Ending Social Security. How do we know that? They put it in writing. They want to end Social Security in 5 years.

We need to not only end the Republicans' ability to end Social Security; we need to expand Social Security. That is why I am so proud to be here to support John Larson's Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust.

In my district alone, there are nearly 120,000 Social Security recipients who receive an average, in total, of $209 million of monthly benefits. This is a vital, critical program, lifesaving for millions of Americans.

Why is it called a sacred trust? It is called a sacred trust because our government promised, over 85 years ago, that if you contribute to Social Security with each and every paycheck, you can retire with dignity. President Biden has called that a sacred trust. Chairman Larson's sacred trust bill is how we need to make Social Security stronger and even better.

I think it is important to talk about how awesome this bill is. Let me talk to you about some of the provisions.

It has a benefit bump for current and new Social Security beneficiaries of 2 percent. In addition, it has protection against inflation, and it does that by improving the outdated COLA formula that currently is in Social Security.

The bill also improves Social Security benefits for widows and widowers. This bill repeals the windfall elimination provision. It ends the 5-month waiting period to receive disability benefits.

The bill also provides caregiver credits toward Social Security. It extends Social Security dependent benefits. It increases access to Social Security dependent benefits for children who live with grandparents or other relatives.

The bill also requires the Social Security agency to mail annual statements to all workers, and it improves access to legal representation for people seeking long-term disability benefits.

This is an awesome bill. This is exactly the kind of legislation that we need to move off the floor, and it is in stark contrast to what Republicans are doing.

Again, Republicans want to end Social Security in 5 years. How do we know that? They put it in writing. Not just one Republican, but multiple Republicans.

It is a severe danger to our Nation if we wipe out this lifesaving program. It is important that we not only make sure that that doesn't happen but that we expand Social Security, especially coming out of a pandemic where people are facing all of these challenges and obstacles. Folks on fixed incomes cannot often get additional income, and that is why the only way to do this is to increase Social Security. We do that by passing John Larson's Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust.

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