[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 8 (Tuesday, February 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E129-E130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       WOMEN AND SOCIAL SECURITY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 1, 2005

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to denounce the fake Social 
Security crisis that President Bush is trying to sell to the American 
public.
  As the new Democratic Chair of the Women's Caucus, I am especially 
concerned because women and children are the first targets to be thrown 
off the lifeboat.
  We expect women to raise families, support elderly family members and 
take care of children.
  But, women lose more years of retirement savings when they stop 
working to raise kids or take care of parents.
  Therefore, they depend more on Social Security when they retire. 
Social Security has been a strong program for its beneficiaries. In my 
district in East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley in LA County, 
there are 59,525 Social Security beneficiaries who rely heavily on 
their hard-earned monthly Social Security benefits. The average Social 
Security benefit for these individuals living is $787 a month.
  If we are looking at just retired workers alone, they only receive 
$540 a month. For many people, particularly Latinos and other 
minorities, this benefit is their only source of income. My district is 
very diverse. Sixty-two percent is Latino, and 18 percent is Asian. 
Forty-one percent of elderly Latinos have Social Security as their only 
means of income. Without Social Security, over half of America's Latino 
elderly would live in poverty. Social Security is especially important 
for minority women.
  They will be left most vulnerable to the Republican privatization 
scheme because they

[[Page E130]]

earn less on the dollar as to other women. Without Social Security, 61 
percent of Latinas over the age of 65 would live below the poverty 
line. Social Security has been the most successful anti-poverty program 
perhaps ever to be undertaken. According to a report released today by 
the National Women's Law Center, the typical widow receives a benefit 
of $865 per month. I am frightened to think that Republicans want to 
strip women of their earned benefits simply because they live longer.
  Without Social Security benefits, the poverty rate for unmarried 
women would be about 60 percent instead of the current 16 percent! But 
under the leading Republican privatization plan, the benefit would be 
only $476 per month. This amount is equal to only 65 percent of the 
poverty line! Women account for 70 percent of all Social Security 
beneficiaries older than 85. Women still earn less than men--73 cents 
to the dollar--and minority women face even larger disparities in 
wages.
  Privatization means that women who are on the edge of poverty living 
in my district would be at the mercy of an unpredictable stock market. 
Without guaranteed benefits, these women would be forced to live day-
to-day, just trying to put food on the table. These women would lose 
the ``security'' from Social Security! Democrats believe that all 
American workers should get the benefits they paid for.
  We want to save, strengthen, and secure Social Security for the 
future generations. Our senior citizens and future generations should 
not be guinea pigs for a political experiment. Just like the non-
existent weapons of mass destruction--you have been told a scary story 
by the Republican majority and President Bush. Let me assure you--
Social Security is not in a crisis. Democrats will fight to protect 
your earned benefits.

                          ____________________