Larson and Democratic Colleagues Call for Action on Social Security on House Floor
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) and a group of his Democratic colleagues took to the House floor calling on Congress to strengthen Social Security and enhance benefits for the first time in more than 50 years.
Last year, Larson reintroduced the Social Security 2100 Act with nearly 200 of his Democratic colleagues to extend the program’s solvency and increase benefits across-the-board for the 67 million Americans who receive Social Security.
Nearly every House Republican recently offered a budget plan to raise the retirement age to 69 and voted to cut Social Security Administration funding by 30% and create a closed-door, fast-track commission designed to slash Social Security benefits.
“I'm joined by my colleagues today as we come to this floor and beseech our fellow colleagues to do one simple thing — vote,” said Larson. That is our responsibility. We have a very specific plan that we put forward. There's also this other plan that's out there we understand — some sort of debt commission that's going to go behind closed doors and decide what they will cut with respect to social security. The American public overwhelmingly — Democrat, Republican, and Independents — all say we do not need cuts to the very essential programs that we rely on as a country. For more than 40% of all Americans, Social Security is the only pension that they have, and Congress hasn't acted in more than 50 years. We need to enhance the program. We need to enhance it in a way that makes sure that everyone gets an across-the-board increase, but especially for five million of our fellow Americans, mostly women, who get below poverty-level checks from the government of the wealthiest nation in the world because Congress has not taken the time or the effort.”
Reps. Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Linda Sanchez (CA-38), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-38), Matt Cartwright (PA-08), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Dina Titus (NV-01), Norma Torres (CA-35), Susan Wild (PA-07), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Kathy Manning (NC-06) and John Garamendi (CA-08) joined Rep. Larson to call for action. The members’ remarks can be viewed here.
“Social Security is one of America’s greatest success stories,” said Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-09). “It stands as a monument to decency and dignity, and is a birthright of hard-working Americans, yet it has been under attack. The Republican Study Committee proposed slashing Social Security benefits by $718 billion and the GOP leadership wants to create a so-called ‘fiscal commission’ – a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Without aggressive action, Social Security races toward insolvency. Congress has a sacred responsibility to fight for its future.”
“It’s high time that Congress has acted to preserve benefits for people who earned those benefits by paying into the system over their working lives,” said Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA-38). “Instead of working with Democrats to ensure that Social Security has better capability to serve constituents, my Republican colleagues proposed devastating cuts to Social Security. Additional cuts to an agency that is already struggling with this significant backlog would be catastrophic for seniors and individuals with disabilities.”
“Social Security has not changed its emphasis and focus on allowing our workers to retire and age in dignity, and not in poverty,” said Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-04). “And we should and can enhance the program so that it will be solvent and useful for current and future beneficiaries. As our population lives longer, more and more people may end up living out their savings, especially women. As our students continue to face the daunting cost of pursuing higher education, it's critical that we reinstate the student benefits of retired, deceased, or disabled workers. And again, these reforms would be particularly meaningful for students of color and low-income families.”
“Social Security is an earned benefit — it is the insurance people pay for every paycheck. It is the bedrock of retirement security with benefits guaranteed to all seniors,” said Rep. Dwight Evans (PA-03). “Without Social Security, 27 million more adults and children would be below the poverty line. I am proud to support Congressman Larson’s Social Security 2100 Act. This transformational legislation will permanently increase benefits across-the-board for the first time in 52 years, and we will pay for this bill by ensuring millionaires and billionaires finally pay their fair share into Social Security.”
“Social Security is vital to making sure our senior citizens, the disabled, and many children in Nevada and across the country are able to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. By simply ensuring billionaires and millionaires pay just their fair share that everyone else who works every day does, we can absolutely afford to increase benefits for all recipients by two percent,” said Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04).
“The overwhelming majority of Americans: Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike, are clear in their support for Social Security,” said Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-03). "In fact, nearly nine in every 10 Americans oppose cutting Social Security. That's because for the last 88 years, Social Security has helped millions of Americans retire from a lifetime of work with the dignity that they deserve. But despite the undeniable success and popularity of the program, House Republicans have remained relentless in their fight to dismantle and defund it. House Democrats still believe in that sacred trust.”
“It is exactly what this country is looking for a program that affects every single American,” said Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02). “It is our job, just like prior Congresses, when we've been approaching these fiscal challenges, to act. We don't need commissions that are going to take this bill behind closed doors with no transparency, which again is exactly the opposite of what the people of this country want. They want to see what we're doing because this affects them and all those years of insurance payments that they have put into this program.”
“For nearly a century, America has made a sacred promise: those who work hard throughout their lives will benefit from the fruits of their labor in retirement,” said Marcy Kaptur (OH-09). “Without action, that promise is at risk. The billionaire class must join the vast majority of Americans in paying their fair share into the system itself. And by making that happen, the Social Security 2100 Act championed by Congressman Larson and all of us will increase benefits for current and new beneficiaries, protect retirees against inflation, and repeal the windfall elimination provision.”
“People will simply die without the lifeline of Social Security,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18). “This is a national crisis. The House Republican Study Committee has proposed multiple harsh cuts to Social Security in their Fiscal Year 2024 budget. They intend to violate the very special sacred trust, that from the days of President Roosevelt, every American felt they could live, that they could survive because of Social Security.”
“We know what happens if we do nothing and just get closer and closer to the cliff,” said Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA-08). “If we do nothing, we end up with the Republican answer: cut benefits and raise the retirement age. That’s what happens if we do nothing.”
“I want to talk about what is actually in this amazing bill,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36). “[It increases benefits] by ensuring billionaires and millionaires pay their fair share. It’s time we pass Congressman John Larson’s Social Security 2100 to preserve Social Security for generations to come.”
“For so many Americans, Social Security is all they have at the end of their career,” said Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01). “Since 1935, Social Security has provided stability, security, and protection for America’s seniors. Social Security is clear. We need to protect it and expand the system that saves senior or soon to be seniors. They expect a future. They earned a future where they can retire with dignity.”
“In my district, there are 113,000 Nevadans who rely on Social Security just to make ends meet,” said Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01). “It represents the U.S. Government at its very best. In fact, it is one of the most successful programs in our history, and it is important that we protect it for future generations. Rasing the retirement age would disproportionately harm middle-income seniors who rely on Social Security, requiring them to delay their earned retirement.”
“Extremist Republicans are once again pushing to end Social Security as we know it, a critical program that supports 67 million people nationwide, with 93,000 of them in my district,” said Rep. Norma Torres (CA-35). “Cutting Social Security will not help the average American but will instead line the pockets of wealthy corporations while seniors and children suffer. Americans work and pay their entire lives to access Social Security. It is their lifeline. We must focus on increasing benefits for the poor - citizens that have paid into this program.”
"I am proud to be a cosponsor of Social Security 2100 and have been every single term I have been here because I believe Social Security is a promise,” said Rep. Susan Wild (PA-07). “It’s not just something seniors depend on, it is something that they have earned, and they aren’t getting rich on it. For most, it gives our seniors a barebone economic existence, but it is vital to them. That is why I have made it my mission to protect and strengthen this critical program.”
“As a Co-Chair on the Task Force on Aging and Families, I am so proud to be an original cosponsor of your Social Security 2100 Act,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-07). “This is a deeply consequential issue that stands to impact individuals form every walk of life: women, children, people of color, veterans, and our seniors who have earned the right to age in dignity. Social Security is a promise to workers, to our elders, to the disabled, a promise to all people who seek to age with dignity, and we will keep fighting to keep that promise.”
“Social Security is a promise. It is a promise that if you work hard and do the right thing and pay into the system during your career, you will be able to retire with dignity in this country,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner (RI-02). “Here's the truth. We can increase cost-of-living adjustments, increase benefits for Social Security, and extend the life of the trust fund indefinitely by just asking the people at the very top to pay their fair share, and that's what this bill does.”
“Social Security was there when my mother-in-law, a stay-at-home mom, was suddenly widowed at 28 years old and left with four young children to raise on her own,” said Rep. Kathy Manning (NC-06). “Social Security was there to help her get through the tragic loss of her husband and to figure out how to support her young family. I stand in support of Social Security. I will stand up to any politician who wants to take away or reduce those earned benefits."
“Mr. Larson has put together a proposal that would guarantee Social Security’s solvency for years to come,” said Rep. John Garamendi (CA-08). “It would require that the super-wealthy have to pay their fair share, and what's wrong with that? It’s good for you, Good for the seniors. Good for the future of America.”