Polycrisis in America
Floor Speech
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Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I rise today to address the body on what has become a new term of art in politics called a polycrisis.
A polycrisis is when extraordinary events are taking place around the world, of which we are all too familiar with, including a global pandemic that has set off global supply chain issues and that have set off global inflation that impacts everybody around the globe. All of which have been compounded by the war in Ukraine and all the disruption that that has caused.
In the midst of this polycrisis, who has been impacted the most in this country by both the pandemic and inflation?
People impacted the most by the pandemic are people over the age of 65. Of roughly the more than 1.2 million Americans who have succumbed to the pandemic, over 850,000, Madam Speaker, are over the age of 65.
The people who are most impacted by inflation are people on a fixed income, and they tend to be people over the age of 65 because they are the people on Social Security, which means that some 66-plus million Americans are impacted by both the pandemic and inflation, and Congress needs to act.
What we need to do most of all is put the debt ceiling issue behind us. To play chicken with people's lives with Social Security checks on the line, to default on the American dollar, is criminal. These are probably unintended by the other side of the aisle, but nonetheless, the direct result of a gamble that makes no sense.
Who is looking in during this polycrisis but our competitors around the world, most notably, China and Russia, who would love to see the value of the dollar and the standing of the United States shaken.
Oddly and ironically enough, this is not happening by any of these events abroad but happening right here in this Chamber by the failure of Congress to lift the debt ceiling, something that was done three times during the Trump administration. Yet, in the face of this pending crisis, with our seniors, the most vulnerable amongst us, facing excruciating circumstances, we continue to dither here.
Put the debt ceiling on the floor, vote on it, and lift it so we can get on with sending relief to the American people.
Congress should be embarrassed by its negligence. It has been more than 52 years since Congress has enhanced benefits for Social Security.
How can people go home and look at their friends, their neighbors, their parents, their brothers and sisters in the eye and tell them that we have done nothing for 52 years?
Do you think that things have changed since 1971, that prices might have gone up?
Certainly, they have.
It is long overdue for Congress not simply to protect Social Security, but to enhance it during this polycrisis, during this epidemic, during this time of inflation, for the most vulnerable among us.
Social Security is the number one antipoverty program for the elderly. It is also the number one antipoverty program for children, and it also happens to be the best economic development program for every single congressional district.
An average of 145,000 people per congressional district depend on Social Security and receive those checks. Where do they spend that money? Right back in the district.
The time to act is now.
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