[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 664 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 664

Expressing the sense of the Senate in opposition to privatizing Social 
Security, raising the retirement age, or other similar cuts to benefits 
               under title II of the Social Security Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2010

Mr. Sanders (for himself, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Harkin, 
 Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Akaka, Mrs. 
 Gillibrand, Ms. Mikulski, and Mr. Lautenberg) submitted the following 
       resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate in opposition to privatizing Social 
Security, raising the retirement age, or other similar cuts to benefits 
               under title II of the Social Security Act.

Whereas Social Security is America's most successful and reliable retirement 
        program and continues to serve Americans well;
Whereas Social Security is not in crisis or going bankrupt and has been running 
        surpluses for the last quarter-century;
Whereas Social Security, which currently has a $2,600,000,000,000 surplus, has 
        not contributed a dime to the Federal budget deficit or national debt, 
        and benefit cuts should not be proposed as a solution to reducing the 
        Federal deficit;
Whereas for 75 years, through good times and bad, Social Security has succeeded 
        in protecting working persons and their families from precipitous drops 
        in household income because of lost wages;
Whereas Social Security has kept millions of Americans out of poverty, including 
        senior citizens, widows, and disabled and dependent children whose 
        parents have died, become disabled, or retired;
Whereas before President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into 
        law on August 14, 1935, approximately half of the senior citizens in 
        America lived in poverty, while less than 10 percent of seniors 
        presently live in poverty;
Whereas more than 53,000,000 Americans receive Social Security benefits, 
        including 36,500,000 retirees and their spouses, 8,200,000 disabled 
        persons and their spouses, 4,500,000 surviving spouses of deceased 
        workers, and 4,300,000 dependent children;
Whereas according to the Congressional Budget Office, even if no changes are 
        made to the Social Security program, full benefits will still be 
        available to every recipient until 2039, with enough funding remaining 
        after that date to pay about 80 percent of promised benefits;
Whereas seniors have put in a lifetime of hard work, helping to make our economy 
        grow and make our Nation great, and they deserve a dignified and secure 
        retirement;
Whereas Social Security provides the majority of income for two-thirds of the 
        elderly population in the United States, with approximately one-third of 
        elderly individuals receiving nearly all of their income from Social 
        Security;
Whereas proposals to privatize Social Security would jeopardize the retirement 
        security of millions of Americans by relying on the ups-and-downs of the 
        volatile stock market to provide benefits;
Whereas Social Security benefits have already been cut by 13 percent, as the 
        Normal Retirement Age was raised in 1983 from 65 years of age to 67 
        years of age by 2022;
Whereas the physical demands of a job differ from industry to industry and, on 
        average, the longevity of the lives of individuals differ significantly 
        according to their level of income, education, and access to health 
        care;
Whereas 45 percent of workers who are 58 years of age or older are in jobs that 
        are physically demanding or have difficult working conditions;
Whereas raising the retirement age is especially burdensome to African-American, 
        Latino, and older low-income workers;
Whereas according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in April 2010, 
        the job market for Americans 55 years of age and older was one of the 
        worst on record;
Whereas Social Security benefits for retirees currently average a modest $14,000 
        a year, with the average for women receiving benefits being less than 
        $12,000 per year; and
Whereas according to the Social Security Administration, raising the retirement 
        age for future retirees would reduce benefits by 6 percent to 7 percent 
        for each year that the Normal Retirement Age is raised under Social 
        Security: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate to reaffirm our 
commitment to the Social Security program, one of the greatest 
legislative accomplishments in the history of our Nation, without 
privatizing Social Security, raising the Normal Retirement Age, or 
other similar cuts to benefits under title II of the Social Security 
Act.
                                 <all>