[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 116 (Thursday, July 11, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       WE MUST FIGHT TO PRESERVE SOCIAL SECURITY FOR MILLENNIALS

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                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 11, 2019

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I rise today to include in 
the Record the following article, written by Max Richtman, the 
president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security 
and Medicare, for my colleagues. As Chairman of the House Ways and 
means Subcommittee on Social Security, I urge my colleagues to fight to 
protect Social Security for all working Americans, especially 
millennials who will rely on Social Security significantly more than 
their parents' or grandparents' generation. Mr. Richtman's article 
makes a persuasive case to rebut efforts to divide the generations by 
claiming that today's millennials bear the burden of supporting today's 
retirees. The Social Security 2100 Act will ensure that Social Security 
is there for generations to come for all, including millennials.

       We Must Fight to Preserve Social Security for Millennials

                           (By Max Richtman)

       If you 're a millennial, you have may been led to believe 
     that you have a better chance of seeing a UFO or Bigfoot than 
     receiving a Social Security check. In a recent survey, some 
     80 percent of millennials are concerned that they won't be 
     able to receive any Social Security benefits upon retirement.
       With the steady drumbeat of dystopian disinformation 
     flowing from Social Security's opponents and many in the 
     media, who could blame them? No wonder the young adults I 
     talk to at town hall meetings across the country tell me the 
     same thing: ``Social Security will not be there for me when I 
     need it.'' Let me assure the U.S.'s young people that Social 
     Security will be there for you in the future, if you fight 
     for it now.
       Don't listen to so-called ``entitlement reformers'' who try 
     to divide the generations by telling you it's unfair that 
     millennials ``support'' today's retirees through Social 
     Security payroll contributions. This ignores the fact that 
     the program has always been a compact between the 
     generations--and has provided Americans with basic income in 
     retirement for more than 80 years. Social Security is the 
     bedrock of the U.S.'s working and middle classes. We can't 
     allow conservative ideologues to erode it.
       These ``reformers'' count on people forgetting that Social 
     Security is much more than a retirement income program. It 
     also provides disability, spousal and survivor's benefits to 
     Americans of all ages. The average worker with a spouse and 
     two children would have to purchase more than $600,000 in 
     life and disability insurance to replace the protections 
     Social Security provides. In fact, some 1.2 million 
     millennials already receive Social Security benefits.
       Social Security is as much a millennials' program as anyone 
     else's. Current trends indicate that millennials will rely on 
     Social Security retirement benefits significantly more than 
     their parents' or grandparents' generations. Increasing 
     income inequality, wage stagnation, student loan debt, 
     declining home ownership, the gig economy and the scarcity of 
     employer-provided pensions have put young peoples' retirement 
     security at risk.
       The National Institute on Retirement Security reports that 
     two-thirds of millennials haven't saved any money for 
     retirement. At the same time, future seniors face rapidly 
     escalating living costs. Basic expenses--from housing to 
     health care to groceries--will become even pricier in decades 
     to come. What's more, millennials will live longer on average 
     than today's retirees, meaning they'll have to spread out 
     their financial resources over a greater number of years.
       That's why Social Security will be even more crucial in 
     keeping today's young people out of poverty in old age. 
     According to a recent Urban Institute study, the average 
     millennial will receive $1,000,000 in Social Security 
     retirement benefits. That's about twice the average amount 
     that today's retirees collect. But this will happen only if 
     we are able to prevent ``reformers'' from cutting benefits, 
     including raising the retirement age and adopting a more 
     miserly formula for calculating yearly cost-of-living 
     adjustments. Don't let them fool you into believing that 
     slashing benefits is the only way to keep the system solvent 
     for the future--or that we should gamble with the Social 
     Security trust fund by investing it on Wall Street.
       In fact, there is another path forward, championed by Rep. 
     John Larson (D-Connecticut) and Democratic presidential 
     candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), among others in 
     Congress. Both have introduced legislation that would put 
     Social Security on a solid financial footing for the future, 
     while Rep. Larson's bill provides a modest, but much-needed 
     boost in benefits. Each bill would adjust the Social Security 
     payroll wage cap (currently set at $132,900) so that the 
     wealthy would begin paying their fair share into the program.
       Representative Larson's bill also includes a 1.2 percent 
     increase in employee payroll contributions spread out over 24 
     years. The average worker would contribute an extra 50 cents 
     per week toward future Social Security benefits--the 
     equivalent of one Starbucks coffee drink every two months. As 
     Larson points out, that's a pretty good deal in exchange for 
     the peace of mind of knowing Social Security will remain 
     fully solvent through the end of the century, with more 
     generous benefits and cost-of-living adjustments. If you're 
     an average income earner, you will surely need both to pay 
     your bills in old age.
       Millennials, here's a chance to harness the power of your 
     generation to exert influence on the future course of Social 
     Security. Instead of accepting the false narrative that 
     Social Security is doomed, join your parents and grandparents 
     in protecting Social Security as if your future financial 
     well-being depends on it--because it does.

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