[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 10, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3546-S3548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BEGICH (for himself and Mrs. Murray):
  S. 2455. A bill to enhance Social Security benefits for children, 
divorced spouses, and widows and widowers, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, I am pleased to be here today with my 
friend and colleague, Senator Murray, to talk about Social Security. I 
am going to spend a few moments discussing a bill we are introducing 
today and then turn it over to Senator Murray.
  As you know, Social Security is one of the most important programs 
ever established in this country. After 75 years, Social Security 
continues to deliver as intended. It is a promise to Americans. The 
promise is simple. If you work hard all your life and contribute to the 
system, then Social Security will be there to help make ends meet when 
you retire or help out the family if a worker dies or is disabled.
  Let me be clear. Despite the naysayers, Social Security is not a 
handout. Social Security benefits are linked directly to the amount 
that retirees pay into the system through a lifetime of hard work. But 
times have

[[Page S3547]]

changed and we need to make sure the promise of Social Security 
continues in a meaningful way. That is why Senator Murray and I 
introduced the Retirement and Income Security Act yesterday, which we 
like to call the RAISE Act. It is a commonsense bill to update, 
enhance, and protect Social Security in a fiscally responsible way.
  When it comes to fairness, this bill is a small but important step 
for seniors, for older women, and for the families of deceased or 
disabled workers. It makes sure that the modest benefits of Social 
Security will go to everyone who deserves them.
  The RAISE Act has three major components.
  It will, first, improve Social Security benefits for divorced 
spouses. Under current law, the divorced spouse only gets benefits from 
a former spouse's earnings if they were married for at least 10 years. 
Under our bill, eligibility rules would be phased in beginning at 5 
years of marriage. The spouse would be entitled to 60 percent of the 
benefits after 6 years of marriage, 70 percent after 7 years, and so 
on.
  Second, our bill will enhance benefits for widows and widowers. It 
establishes a new enhanced benefit for widows and widowers where both 
spouses have retired. An alternative calculation in the bill will use 
both spouses' benefits--deceased and surviving--rather than just the 
survivor's benefit. The surviving spouse will receive either their 
current benefit or the new alternative, whichever is greater.
  The third component of the RAISE Act extends eligibility for children 
of retired, disabled or deceased workers. This provision would apply if 
the child is still in high school, college or vocational or career 
school. Under current law, minors and high school students under the 
age of 19 can get Social Security benefits if their parent is a 
retired, disabled or deceased worker. Beginning in 2016, this provision 
extends benefits for full-time students up to the age of 23.
  Even though Social Security continues to fully pay for itself and has 
never added a dime to the deficit, I know some of our colleagues will 
complain that we cannot afford these small enhancements. That is why 
our bill asks those Americans who can most afford it to pay their fair 
share towards the strengthening of the Social Security trust fund.
  Beginning in 2015, the RAISE Act would apply a 2-percent payroll tax 
on annual earnings over $400,000. This means that, for future 
generations, Social Security will continue to be fully funded. In 
future years, that threshold will increase under an indexing formula 
built into the bill.
  I am a proud sponsor of this bill with Senator Murray. It was an easy 
decision for me, since my commitment to bolstering Social Security 
started from day one in the Senate. I have already introduced two other 
bills on Social Security, and I want to just mention them briefly 
before I turn it over to Senator Murray.
  The first bill is my Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act. 
It would extend the solvency of Social Security by lifting the cap on 
high-income contributions, which this year is $117,000. Not everyone 
knows this, but once your annual income hits that threshold, you no 
longer have to contribute to Social Security for the rest of the 
calendar year. This seems unfair to me. My bill would lift the cap and 
phase out what effectively has become a tax loophole. Higher income 
Americans would pay into Social Security all year long--just like 
everyone else. This provision would add generations of financial 
certainty to Social Security.
  The bill would also improve benefits for seniors and others by 
establishing new cost-of-living adjustments based on reality. The 
formula would better reflect seniors' financial needs by basing the 
adjustments on items such as prescription drugs and housing, which 
seniors pay for, instead of electronics and new cars.
  My second bill is the Social Security Fairness Act. It would repeal 
unfair reductions to Social Security benefits for people who have 
worked part of their career in noncovered jobs--often State or local 
government or other civil service jobs.
  Congress passed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government 
Pension Offset in the 1980s because of fears workers who retire under 
other pensions would be double covered and Social Security could not 
afford it. But in effect those old laws are punishing people by 
reducing benefits they rightfully have earned.
  Today, these provisions affect more than 2 million people nationwide, 
and the number is growing. It is not just about getting back what you 
paid into the system. Removing these penalties would also encourage 
people willing to work in public service as a second career--such as 
police officers or teachers. If you are considering such a move today 
but know your Social Security benefit would be reduced or penalized 
because you had stepped forward and worked in public service, why would 
you do it?
  Let's remember one thing about all of these bills--the two I 
introduced earlier and the RAISE Act we are discussing today. Social 
Security benefits are vitally important but also are very modest. 
Nationally, they average $13,500 a year for recipients. It is very 
important to my State. More than 71,000 people in my State of Alaska 
rely on Social Security. That is roughly 1 out of 10 Alaskans. Social 
Security lifts tens of thousands of Alaskans out of poverty--the 
elderly and especially elderly women--and it pumps more than $1 billion 
into our economy every single year.
  No one is getting rich off of Social Security, but it does provide an 
important foundation, and it does so in a truly American way: You work, 
you contribute, and you get something back. As long as I am in 
Congress, I will fight to make sure Social Security is solvent and 
there for not only this generation but for generations to come.
  Senator Murray has been a longtime champion for Social Security, and 
I am proud to stand with her on the floor today. Our RAISE Act is 
another modest improvement. I hope our colleagues will join us in 
standing up for this critically important program.
  Our Social Security system reflects the best of America: hard work, 
personal responsibility, human dignity, and caring for our parents, our 
children, our spouses, and our neighbors and ourselves.
  Let's come together in this Chamber and do all we can to make sure 
Social Security is working for all Americans.
  With that, I yield the floor for my colleague, Senator Murray.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Alaska, Mr. 
Begich, for coming and joining me today because I know he is deeply 
committed to strengthening and protecting Social Security for current 
and future seniors. So I was very pleased to join him today in 
introducing the RAISE Act, which will be a very critical step forward 
in this effort.
  Over the last several decades, middle class families have been 
increasingly squeezed by rising prices for everything from college 
tuition to health care. Wages have stayed flat--or even declined for 
some people--and fewer companies today are offering the kinds of 
generous pension plans that used to help so many workers stay 
financially secure.
  With all that in mind, it is not surprising that, as families have 
struggled to stretch their dollars further and further in order to get 
the bills paid and raise their children, it has become harder and 
harder to save for retirement.
  In fact, a recent study showed that more than a third of today's 
workers have been unable to save even a dollar for retirement, and even 
those who do have savings do not have very much. The same study found 
that 60 percent of respondents had less than $25,000 in total assets 
and investments, excluding their home.
  The numbers are even more pronounced when you look at women in the 
workforce. Because women, on average, earn less than men, they 
accumulate less in savings, they receive smaller pensions, and nearly 3 
in 10 women over 65 depend only on Social Security for income in their 
later years.
  It is clear that now more than ever Social Security is a lifeline for 
millions of seniors. So it is especially important for us to make sure 
this critical system is meeting the needs of today's beneficiaries.
  For 75 years our Social Security system has offered millions of 
seniors and

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their families a foundation of financial security. But a lot has 
changed in those 75 years. Today, most families have two earners. 
Because Social Security was actually designed for single-earner 
families, surviving spouses in families where both adults worked may 
receive less in benefits than they deserve.
  Social Security also supports children whose parents retired, became 
disabled or passed away--but those benefits end at the age 18 or 19. 
That is right. When young adults should be thinking about continuing 
their education--a necessity in today's economy--they are worried about 
having nowhere to go.
  At a time when Social Security is an increasingly critical source of 
support for so many, the RAISE Act would make some commonsense updates 
to ensure our Social Security system is doing everything possible to 
help today's seniors and their families.
  As the Senator from Alaska described, the RAISE Act would establish a 
new alternative benefit to make sure widows and widowers from two-
earner families do not receive less in survivor benefits than those 
from single-earner families.
  The RAISE Act would enable spouses who were married for less than 10 
years to receive spousal and survivor benefits. It would extend 
benefits for young adults under 23 who are enrolled in school full 
time.
  Crucially, to help ensure Social Security is there for future 
generations, the RAISE Act would shore up the Social Security trust 
fund in a fiscally responsible way that protects middle-class families. 
I believe strengthening and protecting Social Security benefits through 
the RAISE Act would do an enormous amount of help to our workers and 
families and their ability to stay financially secure.
  But I also want to note there is a much broader challenge. There is 
not just one solution. We should absolutely make these critical changes 
to help make sure our Social Security system is meeting the needs of 
today's workers and families, but we also have to look at ways for 
workers to save for retirement and encourage companies to offer higher 
retirement plans.
  That is not all. We need to make sure women get equal pay for equal 
work so they will have the same shot at a secure retirement as their 
male coworkers.
  We do need to invest in education and training and get college costs 
down so our workers are prepared to compete for high-wage, high-skilled 
jobs.
  We need to continue to fight to strengthen and protect programs such 
as Medicare which senior women and men rely on.
  Democrats care deeply about taking these steps and many others to 
make sure our workers have the secure, dignified retirement they 
deserve. There is absolutely no reason why, after working hard all of 
her life, a retiree should have to worry about how she and her family 
will make ends meet.
  I believe we can do better. I know Senator Begich does as well. I 
urge our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take a close look at 
our RAISE Act. I hope we can pass it to offer seniors and their 
families some additional relief. Then I hope we can build on this with 
other policies to create more opportunity and more financial security 
for our workers.
                                 ______