[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H5739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SOCIAL SECURITY

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in 
support of the most successful program the United States Government has 
ever created, Social Security.
  Since its inception in 1935, Social Security has become the great 
promise that each generation will take care of those who came before 
it. In our district in Texas, nearly 65,000 recipients receive over $61 
million monthly from the Social Security administration. It's a blue-
collar district, home to thousands of hardworking families who have 
overcome wars and natural disasters in becoming the backbone of the 
American economy.
  The national average benefit for the retiree is $14,000 a year, a 
majority of income for 6 out of 10 seniors. This modest amount 
guarantees that tens of millions of parents, grandparents, friends and 
neighbors can retire with dignity.
  I believe it's important to consider what would have happened if 
Congress had followed along the lines of then-President George W. Bush 
in 2005 to partially privatize Social Security and make Social Security 
subject to the stock market.
  Or consider what could happen if Congress follows along the plans of 
some of my colleagues across the aisle in cutting Social Security to 
reduce the national debt. I believe that cutting Social Security is 
irresponsible and wrong as we approach the 75th anniversary of Social 
Security.

                          ____________________