[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H5737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SOCIAL SECURITY

  (Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Social 
Security as it approaches its 75th anniversary. When FDR signed this 
historic legislation into law, he understood that the whims of Wall 
Street were sweeping many hardworking Americans into financial ruin. At 
the time, more than half of America's seniors lacked sufficient income 
to be self-supporting.
  Social Security changed all of that. Indeed, today, in my home State 
of Florida, 53 percent of seniors would be below the poverty line 
without Social Security. That hasn't stopped Republicans from wanting 
to end the guarantee of Social Security. In 2005, President Bush 
proposed privatizing Social Security, which would have cut benefits for 
70 percent of retired Americans. Well, it's deja vu all over again.
  While President Bush may be gone, his plans live on. House 
Republicans are once again calling to privatize Social Security, and 
Medicare for good measure. We simply cannot risk tossing millions of 
seniors into poverty.
  Let us rededicate ourselves to Roosevelt's vision and to the economic 
security of all of our citizens and not throw our seniors out in the 
cold.

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