[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 158 (Tuesday, October 3, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S6272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Social Security

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I want to talk a little bit about Social 
Security and, specifically, about the windfall elimination provision 
and the government pension offset. Now, I know that sounds real 
technical, but, basically, here is the problem.
  We have a lot of Americans who have paid into Social Security who are 
now getting screwed by Social Security. They are not getting their 
money back. All of us want to do everything we can to maintain the 
stability and sanctity of the Social Security system, and I think all 
of us believe that we all ought to get the Social Security payments 
that we are entitled to. That is all this issue is about. Let me 
explain.
  For many middle-class Americans, receiving Social Security at 
retirement is sort of like a welcoming light at the end of the tunnel. 
They have worked hard, they have retired, and now they are entitled to 
some of the money back that they paid into the Social Security system. 
I am talking, of course, about the hard-working women and the hard-
working men who have seen a chunk of their monthly earnings go into the 
Social Security system throughout their entire careers--10, 15, 20, and 
sometimes 30 and 40 years. These same Americans have not seen a pay 
raise or an increase in their median household income for a long time. 
The median household income in America today, as the Presiding Officer 
knows, is pretty much the same as it was in 1999.
  I guess whom I am talking about are ordinary people. You can call it 
the middle class, if you would like, or working families. They were the 
ones who were hit the hardest by the great recession of 2008. They have 
been struggling throughout their lives to participate in the great 
wealth of this Nation. They are entitled to participate in the great 
wealth of this Nation, and they should not have to keep on struggling 
to get money for retirement from the Social Security system when they 
have already paid into the Social Security system.
  The principle behind Social Security is pretty simple. Throughout 
your working life, you pay some money and your employer pays some 
money. When you are done working, or when you retire, according to a 
formula, you get your money back through a Social Security check. It is 
simple in theory. You put money in, and when you hit the retirement 
age, you get some of it back, except that for 1.7 million Americans, 
that is not the case. That is not how the system works for them. That 
includes about 38,000 hard-working folks in my home State of Louisiana, 
but there are a lot more in other States as well. I am talking about 
millions of teachers, police officers, firefighters, and a lot of other 
folks who earn modest pensions in service to their communities who face 
little or no access to Social Security.
  Here is what I am talking about. I am talking about a teacher who 
paid into the Social Security system. I am talking about teachers or 
firefighters or policemen who paid into their own retirement systems. 
So they are rocking along. They are, basically, paying into two 
retirement systems--Social Security and the private retirement system. 
They are doing the right thing in getting up every day, going to work, 
obeying the law, and trying to save money for retirement. It is 
deferred gratification. They are ready to retire, but because they were 
prudent enough to invest in a private retirement system, they do not 
get their Social Security check even though they have already paid into 
it. Additionally, a worker can pass away before reaching retirement age 
not even knowing that his spouse and children will not have full access 
to his Social Security survivors' benefits. That is just not right.
  Until 2005, there was not even a legal requirement for human 
resources to notify workers that switching careers would affect their 
eligibility for Social Security or Social Security survivors' benefits. 
Many of these 1.7 million Americans who are getting screwed tried to do 
the right thing. They paid into a private retirement system, and they 
paid into Social Security only to find out later that they can get 
their money from the private retirement system but that they cannot get 
their money from Social Security. They are being punished for being 
prudent. Many of them retire with no idea that that is the law. By 
then, of course, it is too late.
  In June of this year, one in six Americans collected Social Security 
benefits, and I am happy for every one of them because, to collect, 
they had to pay in. That is about 61 million Americans. By 2031, when 
the last of the baby boomers hits retirement age, that number is going 
to increase to about 75 million Americans. These are going to be our 
seniors. They are our seniors, and they are our seniors to be. They are 
battling against the rising costs of housing, healthcare, automobiles, 
taxes, and fees. Many of them have had their private retirement 
accounts or home values wrecked by the great recession. Yet these 
Americans press on.
  When we talk about tax reform--and we are going to be talking a lot 
about tax reform here over the next few weeks--we need to make clear 
that we are talking about reforms that will help these middle-class 
Americans. They are the people who get up every day, go to work, obey 
the law, and try to do the right thing by their kids and teach their 
kids morals and try to save a little money for retirement.
  Let me be blunt. I would like to eliminate the windfall elimination 
provision and the government pension offset in the Social Security 
office. I think it would be a vital step in ensuring that our middle-
class seniors can enjoy continued economic security after their 
retirements. Not only would it help the economy, but it is the right 
thing to do.
  I sum up. We can provide economic relief immediately to some of those 
middle-class retirees about whom I have been talking by eliminating the 
windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset of the 
Social Security system. It will not cost much money. It will have a 
small effect on the cost of Social Security, at about 0.13 percent--not 
13 percent but 0.13 percent. It is a little over one-tenth of 1 
percent.
  After taking care of this simple fix, which is more than about 
money--it is about fairness--we can turn our eyes to out-of-control 
Washington spending to ensure that Social Security remains a reliable 
source of retirement income for Americans in the long term.
  Thank you.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.