IV 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. CON. RES. 302 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 22, 2010 Mr. Klein of Florida submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Recognizing the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act into public law.

Whereas, on August 14, 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, promising economic security for the elderly, the poor, and the sick; Whereas, upon signing the Social Security Act into law, President Roosevelt declared: “It is, in short, a law that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.”; Whereas Social Security today is widely regarded as the most successful social program ever enacted in the United States, providing working Americans with a basic level of retirement security for 75 years; Whereas Social Security also offers financial stability to millions of disabled Americans, their dependents, and the dependents of deceased workers; Whereas Social Security is an earned benefit that American workers pay into throughout the lifetime of their careers; Whereas Social Security provides a guaranteed level of financial protection for Americans in retirement that cannot be assured with private pensions and personal assets alone; Whereas the privatization of the Social Security system would potentially weaken this basic floor of protection by exposing seniors to added financial risks in their retirement years; Whereas Social Security benefits have remained a stable, reliable source of income during the recent economic recession; Whereas studies indicate that, without Social Security benefits, the poverty rate for older Americans would jump from 10 to 48 percent; Whereas Social Security benefits represent about 40 percent of the income of the elderly; Whereas 52 percent of the American workforce has no private pension coverage and 31 percent of the workforce has no savings set aside specifically for retirement; and Whereas significant cuts to the Social Security program would jeopardize the retirement security of American seniors and the financial stability of disabled Americans, their dependents, and the dependents of deceased workers: Now, therefore, be it

That the Congress, in recognition of the long history of the Social Security Act in providing Americans with a valuable source of security— (1)honors the American leaders who worked in a bipartisan fashion to author and pass this critical social insurance program into law; (2)acknowledges the importance of Social Security to our society as a reliable, stable source of income for retired seniors, disabled workers, and the dependents of deceased workers; and (3)commits itself to preserving the fundamental right to Social Security benefits in retirement for future generations of Americans.