[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 1, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ENDING THE EARNINGS LIMIT

  (Mr. KUYKENDALL asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. KUYKENDALL. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 5, which 
is coming up later, the Senior Citizens Freedom to Work Act. It is 
important legislation for our seniors.
  Seniors between the ages of 65 and 69 currently will lose a dollar's 
worth of their Social Security benefits for every $3 they earned over 
$17,000. Senior citizens should not be penalized for working. It is 
unconscionable for this Government to take away these hard-earned 
benefits.
  During the Great Depression, unemployment exceeded 25 percent and 
wages were plummeting. In 1935, it made sense to create a disincentive 
for older workers in order to create jobs for new workers, but this 
policy is no longer needed.
  More than 800,000 working senior citizens lose part or all of their 
Social Security benefits due to this obsolete provision. Today, we will 
have an opportunity to remove the earnings limit.
  I am glad that the President is on board and that he will be able to 
sign this legislation after we pass it. Ending the earnings limit is 
good policy for America. It is good for our seniors; it is the right 
thing to do.

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