[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 118 (Monday, July 18, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H6683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  ENHANCE, DON'T CUT, SOCIAL SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, the COVID virus has 
impacted our senior citizens more severely than any other population. 
With over 1 million deaths now in the country, more than 750,000 of 
them are people over the age of 65.
  This global pandemic has also brought with it inflation, as well, and 
people on fixed incomes are the people who are most hurt by inflation.
  Madam Speaker, those are our fellow senior citizens who are 
struggling now in this pandemic. Martin Luther King used to say that it 
is important to always recognize the fierce urgency of now. The fierce 
urgency for the 65 million Americans on Social Security is that we do 
something now.
  It has been more than 51 years since Congress enhanced Social 
Security benefits. This is not something the President can do by 
executive order, although I commend President Biden for his 
straightforward support of Social Security, calling it a sacred trust 
with the American people. Indeed, it is.
  Now, in the midst of this pandemic and in the midst of what has 
transpired with regard to inflation, our senior citizens need direct 
relief from Congress. Congress is the only body that can provide it.
  The good news is that President Biden and the House of 
Representatives have a bill to do just that, a bill that will enhance 
benefits that haven't been taken up in more than 51 years. People will 
see an across-the-board increase in their Social Security. People who 
were paying taxes on Social Security will no longer be paying those 
taxes. People who have gotten a COLA some years and other years not 
will now get a COLA based on their actual expenses. There will be no 
more waiting period for disability victims.
  There will also be the repeal of WEP and GPO, as the President of the 
United States has called for, making sure that firefighters, policemen, 
and teachers all across this country will now be able, as will their 
spouses, to receive the benefits that they richly deserve.
  These are consequential times that we live in, Madam Speaker, and the 
spotlight is upon us as we approach the summer recess.
  There are plans as to how to deal with Social Security, and they are 
pretty straightforward. The Republicans have put forward three plans. 
Rick Scott from Florida calls for ending Social Security in 5 years. 
The Republican Study Group has more than 20 specific cuts and a 21 
percent across-the-board cut to Social Security by raising the age of 
Social Security recipients. For every year you raise the age, it is a 7 
percent cut. There is no logic to the fact that people are living 
longer so they should receive less.
  Madam Speaker, you know that, in 1971, the last time Congress 
expanded Social Security benefits, Richard Nixon was President of the 
United States and a gallon of milk cost 72 cents. There has not been an 
improvement and enhancement to Social Security since 1971. It is our 
responsibility as a Congress to do so.
  The Republicans have a plan. God bless his soul, Sam Johnson, who I 
admired, a Vietnam war hero, a person who had incredible integrity, put 
forward a plan. His plan called for cuts in order to make Social 
Security solvent.
  The Democratic plan says, no, it is time to enhance Social Security. 
More than 5 million people live in poverty and receive a below-poverty-
level check from their government. It is time for us to act.

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