[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 27, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM

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                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 27, 2010

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Madam Speaker, our nation will observe a 
landmark event next month as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the 
Social Security program.
  With its signing into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on August 
14, 1935, our nation established a lifeline for countless millions of 
Americans and for thousands of the residents of the 10th Congressional 
District I have the privilege to represent. Throughout the past eight 
decades, Congress has always acted in a bipartisan manner to ensure the 
fiscal solvency of the program.
  Ever since I was elected to Congress in 1970, I have dedicated myself 
to ensuring the financial security of the Social Security Trust Funds. 
At times, I had to speak out against Presidents of both parties who 
proposed changes in the system that would cut or eliminate Social 
Security cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs) or even replace the program 
with private Social Security savings accounts. It was in the early 
1980s that I established the bipartisan Social Security Caucus to fight 
against cuts in the COLAs and to preserve and protect the Social 
Security Trust Funds to ensure that benefits would continue to be 
there, as promised, for current and future generations of workers.
  It was with great pride that I supported two of the major legislative 
initiatives to improve the delivery of Social Security benefits and to 
provide for the program's long-term financial solvency. The 1972 
amendments adjusted benefits to allow them to catch up with inflation 
over the program's first 37 years and also instituted an automatic 
cost-of-living payment to allow them to stay in balance with inflation 
from there on out. The 1983 amendments made some adjustments to the 
program to reflect the longer lifespan of workers and the impact of 
inflation on the program and protected the long-term stability of the 
program for more than 75 years. That legislation passed the House 243-
102 with my support as I joined 163 Democrats and 79 Republicans in 
approving the bill.
  The 1983 amendments reflect what Congress can do in the interest of 
the American people when we work together in a bipartisan manner for 
the good of the people we are elected to serve. A House with a large 
Democrat majority joined a Senate with a Republican majority and worked 
with Republican President Ronald Reagan to make some tough decisions 
that protected the Social Security benefits for generations of older 
Americans.
  As our nation looks down the road at our fiscal future, I will remain 
vigilant in seeing that Social Security continues to be a sound self-
financing system that provides retirement security for generations of 
retirees. There is no doubt though that the time will come when we need 
to reexamine the financial footing of the system and it is my hope that 
we will once again join together in a bipartisan manner to make the 
best decisions for the American people.
  Madam Speaker, too often Social Security has been used as a political 
weapon to scare older Americans for the benefit of one political cause 
or another. As we prepare to celebrate a milestone anniversary of the 
Social Security program, let us dedicate ourselves to reassuring the 
American people of our commitment to its long-term solvency and to 
honoring the greatest traditions of this House and this Congress to 
ensure that we address any future needs of the program in a bipartisan 
manner as we have done so many times in the past.
  My resolve to protect Social Security for our nation's elderly 
remains firm and you can be sure of my continuing commitment in this 
regard. We owe the people we represent no less.

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