Titus Joins House Democrats to Reaffirm Her Support for Strengthening Social Security and Protecting it from Privatization

Statement

Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada's Third District joined House Democrats on the steps of the United States Capitol to discuss their commitment to strengthen Social Security and protect it from privatization. Below are her remarks as delivered.

"I am delighted to be here to reaffirm my strong commitment to protecting Social Security, an issue that is very important to many of the people who live in my district in Southern Nevada. I represent the most populous district in the country -- one million people live there. It has been the fastest growing senior area in the country for the last decade so you can see why it's so important that we save Social Security for these residents.

"I am here today to highlight the importance of strengthening Social Security. We need to protect it from the misguided attempts to privatize it. It has been a success for 75 years. Those monthly Social Security checks that seniors rely on provide a safety net from poverty and are a key component for a dignified retirement after a lifetime of hard work. Seniors contributed to Social Security. They paid into it, they earned it, they deserve it, and they depend on it.

"Yet as we celebrate 75 years of this very successful program, it is once again under attack by the Republicans. They want to dismantle it and spend trillions of dollars on a risky Wall Street scheme. This would gamble our seniors' savings in something that is very uncertain and line the pockets at the same time of Wall Street.

"The Republicans have already tried this once. They tried it under the Bush administration and failed, but they have made it very clear that they want to do it again. It's bad enough that the failed Bush policies got us into this economic mess, but now to add insult to injury they want to do it again. They have already seen their housing values plummet, their retirement savings disappear, and now just imagine what would have happened if the one benefit they rely on went up in smoke in the stock market.

"That is why on behalf of the many seniors in Southern Nevada who depend on Social Security, they can depend on me and on the Democrats to fight to save and strengthen it."

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