Addressing Social Security
Floor Speech
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Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the concern that faces the United States Congress, one that it has avoided and neglected for more than 54 years.
Richard Nixon was the last President to enhance Social Security. That was in 1971. All of us are concerned on both sides of the aisle, but concern is no substitute for action. It is long overdue that Congress takes a vote on behalf of the American people.
Social Security is more than a pension program. I think the American public knows it and is getting aroused because there are 70 million Americans that are on Social Security and 10,000 baby boomers a day become eligible for Social Security.
Mr. Speaker, for example, in your district alone there are over 175,000 Social Security recipients. It is broken down into those who receive pensions, those who get spousal benefits, those who get widow benefits, children, and, of course, disabilities. More veterans rely on Social Security disability than they do on the VA.
It is not emphasized enough, but the other key thing is: Social Security is the best economic development program that there is in the country. Every district, on average, gets over $200 million coming into that district on a monthly basis.
Where do they spend that money? Nobody gets wealthy on Social Security. That is for sure. That money goes right back into the economy. It becomes something that Congress hasn't adjusted since 1971. I think there are a few things everyone would acknowledge that have happened to the economy since 1971.
Certainly, Congress is neglecting its responsibility. We can point fingers every way, but the bottom line is Congress needs to act. Congress needs to vote.
President Trump has called for tax cuts for people on Social Security. I applaud him. We have had tax cuts in our proposal for the last decade. There has been no action on that.
The difference between what we are proposing and what President Trump is proposing is that we pay for ours because if it is not paid for, what ends up happening is the Social Security fund will be bankrupted. It is still the number one antipoverty program for the elderly and the number one antipoverty program for children.
This economic development piece is something, again, that all of us ought to be able to embrace. I will provide every Member of Congress with a card that will demonstrate how many recipients they have and how much money comes into their district on a monthly basis.
For us, meaning the United States Congress, we are the only body that can act. The President can't do it through executive order. The Supreme Court isn't going to take it up. Only the United States Congress can. Inaction means the fund will be cut. Unpaid action means the fund will be cut drastically.
Imagine there are more than 5 million people that get a below- poverty-level check from Social Security, having paid in all their lives. That was not the guarantee that they signed up for.
There are close to 35 million people in total. This is the only benefit they have, again, attesting to the great vision and leadership of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, knowing this is actually the safety net of capitalism. This allows people to take risks because even if people were to fail, there is something there to catch them and help them and their families through this.
Congress has not acted since 1971. Some will say: No, no, wait a minute. Didn't Tip O'Neill? Yes, they did. It was primarily led by Senator Bob Dole, but Tip O'Neill got together with Ronald Reagan who was adamantly opposed to Social Security. Mr. Dole convinced him, no, this is the right thing to do.
What they did is they extended the solvency of Social Security to its current position. It is not as long as it should have been, but, nonetheless, it is an action that went in the right direction.
I know the Speaker to be a man of good will and integrity. I hope this is something that we can bring up and work on to get this done on behalf of the American people.
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