[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 393 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 393

 Expressing support for policies to protect and expand Social Security 
   and secure its long-term future in a fair and responsible manner.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 2015

  Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Murphy of Florida, Mr. 
Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Judy Chu of 
California, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, 
Mr. DeFazio, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Deutch, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. 
 Edwards, Mr. Ellison, Ms. Esty, Mr. Farr, Ms. Frankel of Florida, Ms. 
    Fudge, Mr. Grayson, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Gutierrez, Ms. Hahn, Mr. 
  Hastings, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Honda, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. 
  Larson of Connecticut, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Lipinski, Mrs. 
   Lowey, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Mrs. Carolyn B. 
Maloney of New York, Mr. McDermott, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Moore, 
 Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Nolan, Ms. Norton, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Peters, Mr. 
 Pocan, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Rush, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, Mr. 
    Sarbanes, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Takai, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thompson of 
California, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Maxine Waters of 
    California, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Wilson of Florida, and Mr. 
 Garamendi) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing support for policies to protect and expand Social Security 
   and secure its long-term future in a fair and responsible manner.

Whereas the Nation is facing a retirement income crisis with millions of hard-
        working Americans fearing they can never retire with dignity and 
        economic independence after a lifetime of work;
Whereas expanding Social Security, which provides guaranteed, lifetime, and 
        inflation-adjusted benefits and is our country's most universal, fair, 
        efficient, and secure source of retirement income, is an essential 
        solution to that retirement income crisis;
Whereas Social Security is the heart of economic security for American workers, 
        allowing them to earn comprehensive birth-to-death protection against 
        the loss of wages due to death, retirement, or disability, in one simple 
        package;
Whereas for most families, Social Security is the only family protection against 
        the loss of income due to the disability or death of a worker and is the 
        single largest source of retirement income;
Whereas Social Security's earned benefits are modest, averaging around $14,600 a 
        year for all beneficiaries and replacing only 40 percent of an average 
        worker's wages--a percentage that is falling and which is lower than the 
        comparable benefits provided by most other industrialized nations;
Whereas 2 out of 3 beneficiaries receiving Social Security in retirement and 7 
        out of 10 households receiving Social Security as a result of disability 
        rely on those earned benefits for half or more of their income, and 1 
        out of 3 senior households rely on it for virtually all of their income;
Whereas more than 1 in 10 of America's children receive Social Security benefits 
        in their own right or through a household member and Social Security 
        lifts 1 million children out of poverty;
Whereas Social Security provides benefits to more than 9 million veterans, about 
        4 in 10 of all veterans;
Whereas Social Security is vitally important to women, who, on average, live 
        longer than men, suffer a significant and persistent wage gap throughout 
        their working years, and are less likely to have employer-sponsored 
        pensions or other retirement benefits, and Social Security prevents two-
        thirds of all older women who live alone from falling into poverty;
Whereas Social Security is vitally important to African-Americans, Latinos, and 
        other people of color who disproportionately experience disability and 
        premature death and, on average, have lower wages, are less likely to 
        have employer-sponsored pensions or retirement benefits, and 
        disproportionately work in physically demanding jobs--without Social 
        Security, poverty rates among African-American and Latino seniors would 
        nearly triple;
Whereas Social Security's benefits total more than $72 billion each month and 
        its 59 million beneficiaries tend to spend those benefits immediately 
        and locally, thereby supporting the economies of rural, suburban, and 
        urban areas alike;
Whereas Social Security protects all generations and strengthens families, 
        providing earned benefits--life insurance, disability insurance, and 
        retirement income--to 1 in 4 households;
Whereas Social Security is an earned benefit that Americans work hard all their 
        lives to secure for themselves and their families;
Whereas Social Security has always been a secure and reliable source of basic 
        economic security, never a day late or a dollar short;
Whereas although many Americans have seen their wages stagnate or decline in 
        recent years, the United States is the wealthiest nation in the world at 
        the wealthiest moment in its history and can easily afford to expand 
        Social Security benefits if the wealthiest among us are required to pay 
        their fair share;
Whereas expanding Social Security's protections and providing Americans with 
        greater economic security while securing Social Security's long-term 
        future is completely achievable and can be done fairly and equitably; 
        and
Whereas the majority of Americans of all ages and in all parts of the country 
        believe Social Security is more important than ever and support 
        increasing its modest benefits: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports policies to 
protect and expand Social Security and secure its long-term future in a 
fair and responsible manner.
                                 <all>