Saving Social Security

Floor Speech

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Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the body to discuss the Nation's number one antipoverty program for the elderly and the Nation's number one antipoverty program for children. That is Social Security.

Mr. Speaker, I know you know this, but can you imagine that Congress hasn't made an adjustment to Social Security in more than 53 years? Richard Nixon was President of the United States the last time that Congress enhanced benefits for the country. Imagine that, Mr. Speaker, as 10,000 baby boomers a day become eligible for Social Security.

The fund is about to be cut by 20 percent in two ways. If Congress does nothing, by 2034, according to the latest report, it will be cut 20 percent. Basically, the Nation's number one antipoverty program for the elderly will be cut by 20 percent if Congress does nothing, and it hasn't done anything in more than 50 years.

There are some proposals, including Social Security 2100, that would extend and pay for this. There are others, like the Republican Study Committee, that say what they want to do is raise the age. The idea is that people are living longer. Well, that is true. That is a good thing.

If people are living longer, they should be working longer and should be getting less. I don't know how that makes sense, that if you are living longer, when you retire, you should be receiving less.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, for every year you raise the age, that is a 7 percent cut in benefits. Raising the age to 70 is a 21 percent cut. If that were to be enacted, that would cut Social Security 21 percent before 2033--again, leaving our most vulnerable behind.

It is not only, Mr. Speaker, seniors. Social Security is also the number one antipoverty program for children. It is also the disability program that more veterans rely on than they do the VA.

This body, this Congress, is the only body capable of doing this. The President can't do it through executive order. The Supreme Court isn't going to rule on it. The only body that can act is the United States Congress, and it hasn't done a thing.

The American people, especially with 10,000 baby boomers a day becoming eligible for Social Security, are demanding that Congress act.

We have a proposal to enhance benefits. We have a proposal to lift up the more than 5 million Americans who get below-poverty-level checks from their government after having paid into Social Security throughout a lifetime. That simply isn't fair. We have a proposal to give a tax cut to 23 million Americans who currently continue to work because they have to and whose Social Security ends up being taxed.

The Republican Study Committee lays out tax cuts for the extraordinarily wealthy in the trillions. How about we do something for the average American citizen, the guy who gets up and works every day?

President Biden has suggested what we need to do. Because these programs are all paid for and don't impact the debt or the deficit and are an earned benefit, he has suggested that we have people making over $400,000 pay their fair share. Currently, billionaires pay next to nothing. Millionaires are done paying Social Security on February 2. Everybody else has to pay in.

Mr. Speaker, it is about time we own up to our responsibility.

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