[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 20, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H6903-H6908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SOCIAL SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the 
body to talk about Social Security.
  I am pleased to be joined by so many of my colleagues from across the 
country who understand what Martin Luther King called the fierce 
urgency of now, and why the United States Congress has to act.
  It has been more than 51 years since the United States Congress has 
enhanced the benefits of Social Security. Richard Nixon was President, 
and a gallon of milk cost 72 cents.
  Much has changed in 51 years, and now, I am proud to announce today 
that the Ways and Means Committee will be marking up Social Security 
2100: A Sacred Trust, next Wednesday and, in doing so, for the first 
time in 51 years Congress will be moving forward to enhance benefits 
for those who need it the most.
  Why do I say that?
  Everybody in America knows that this pandemic, this global pandemic 
that we are in, has caused unbelievable harm across the globe and here 
in this country.
  But who has it affected the most?
  Of the close to 1 million people who have perished in the United 
States, over 756,000 of them are over the age of 65.
  And who is the group that has been hurt the most by the ensuing 
inflation that comes from a global pandemic and a war in Ukraine?
  It is people on a fixed income. It is the more than 65 million 
Americans that are on Social Security.
  I commend President Biden for taking the leadership in this area; who 
campaigned across the country, assuring Americans that Social Security 
was a sacred trust; which, indeed, it is because it has never missed a 
payment.
  We used to have to go back to 1935 and talk about the Great 
Depression. We only have to go back as far as 2008 and 2009 because 
people understand during the Great Recession, when they saw their 
401(k) become a 101(k), that Social Security never missed a payment, 
not a pension payment, not a spousal payment, not a dependent payment, 
not a disability payment.
  It is America's number one insurance program. And all Americans know 
this, and it is easily verified, weekly or monthly, when they look at 
their paycheck and it says FICA, Federal Insurance Contribution.
  Whose?
  Theirs. It is an earned benefit that they have paid into throughout 
their lives.
  And yet, Congress has not acted in 51 years, until now. Under the 
leadership of President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Chairman Richard 
Neal, we are moving forward with legislation that will provide much-
needed relief to people struggling in this pandemic and dealing with 
inflation.
  I am pleased that I am joined today by so many of my colleagues who 
have told their stories over and over again about the citizens that 
they are interacting with, and what an enormous burden this pandemic 
and inflation has caused for them, and now, finally, for Congress to 
act.
  And how so?
  Improving benefits across the board by more than 2 percent for 
everyone; making sure that nobody who worked all their lives and paid 
into a system can retire into poverty; making sure that we have a COLA 
that actually reflects the cost that people incur; making sure that we 
repeal WEP and GPO, so that teachers and firefighters--something that 
Mr. Pascrell has championed his whole time here in Congress--understand 
that relief is on its way because Democrats care deeply about this.

  We are faced, as well, with an alternative from the other side. And 
here is the simple difference. Republicans have proposed to end Social 
Security. Republicans have proposed to cut Social Security across the 
board by more than 21 percent in 20 different separate proposals in 
their Republican Study Plan.
  They have also called, in committee, in the eight hearings that we 
have had on Social Security, to still privatize Social Security.
  Democrats stand, not just to protect Social Security, but to expand 
Social Security for those that need it the most. And those assembled 
here today understand how vitally important it is.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the 
``deaness'' of the House of Representatives, and someone who 
understands intuitively, women need this benefit the most. And in this 
country more than 3 million Americans receive below poverty-level 
checks from Social Security, and the vast majority of them are women.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Larson for his tireless 
leadership and work to safeguard Social Security for the benefit of 
this generation of retirees and those that are to come. He has worked 
hard for decades to try to bring this bill to the floor.
  I thank Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Richard Neal, and Congressman John 
Larson, chair of the subcommittee, for

[[Page H6904]]

giving us the opportunity to bring to the American people what they 
want, and that is a strengthened retirement system under Social 
Security.
  For nearly a century, America has made a sacred promise: Those who 
work and labor throughout their lives will benefit by a retirement from 
the fruits of their labor. It is an earned benefit for pension. It is 
an insurance program that they pay into, as the gentleman has said.
  It is also a survivorship benefit for workers who die who have young 
children. It is a disability program for those who are harmed on the 
job.

                              {time}  1445

  Social Security is an earned benefit. Yeah, it is a promise, but 
people earn it. It assures a safe and secure retirement for tens of 
millions upon millions of Americans during their golden years, to those 
who become disabled, and, of course, their family, their children, in 
fact, if something unfortunate happens.
  But without the action of Chairman Larson, the Social Security 
promise is deeply at risk. Democrats want to strengthen Social 
Security. Republicans want to end it and cripple it.
  With this legislation, soon to be moving through the House Ways and 
Means Committee, one of the most important bills that will ever come 
before this Chamber, Democrats will push for a vote on the floor as 
soon as possible.
  I hear from thousands of northern Ohioans and people across our great 
State who want to see a responsible solution to protect and improve 
Social Security.
  The wealthy must join with the vast majority of Americans in paying 
their fair share of social insurance at a percentage that equals what 
other people pay to secure Social Security into the future.
  By making that happen, the Social Security 2100 Act will increase 
benefits for current and new beneficiaries. It will protect retirees 
against inflation, which the gentleman has mentioned. It will continue 
to serve the disabled and the young children of workers who die at a 
far too young age, and it will repeal the windfall elimination 
provision that we have been trying to fix for how many decades? I think 
at least four.
  The Social Security 2100 Act is one of the most important bills 
Congress will ever vote on. What a privilege it will be to be able to 
cast a ``yes'' vote.
  America made a promise to workers and to retirees and families, and 
Democrats are committed to making good on that promise. This is a 
Democratic program, and we are going to save it as Democrats and 
improve it.
  Thank you, Chairman Larson.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. I thank Ms. Kaptur and greatly appreciate 
the gentlewoman from Ohio's comments.
  I yield to the gentleman Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright), who also 
understands and has worked tirelessly as an original cosponsor of this 
bill to make sure that several of the benefits, more than 14 
enhancements to this bill, are now going to be enjoyed by the people of 
Pennsylvania and all across this Nation.
  Mr. CARTWRIGHT. I thank Chairman Larson for yielding me the time, and 
it is an honor and a privilege for me to speak out in favor of this 
wonderful bill, Social Security 2100.
  Social Security, something that has been a triumph for American 
government for close to a hundred years now; Social Security that has 
kept seniors out of poverty.
  It used to be that in this country, seniors died in poverty, died of 
starvation. That happened in America. Don't think it couldn't happen 
again. But under the Social Security Administration, it doesn't happen.
  Seniors who work their whole lives and pay into this insurance 
program reap the benefit of doing so and have money coming to them. It 
isn't a lot, but it is keeping people alive and out of poverty, and out 
of poverty through some of the most extreme downturns in our economy.
  It is something that protected seniors from starving to death during 
terrible moments of economic stress and distress in this country.
  Social Security is something that all of us Americans ought 
rightfully to be proud of; that it was enacted during the Roosevelt 
administration; that has been protected and defended for generation 
after generation; and that it has succeeded in keeping Americans out of 
poverty in the most dire circumstances.
  It is a legacy that the Democratic party are very, very proud of, and 
all of us band together at a moment's notice to protect it when it is 
threatened by those who think ill of it.
  Those instances have not been few or far between. There was the time 
in the early 2000s when there was this push to privatize Social 
Security. Instead of paying into the system and having it protected, 
no. The idea was just give the money to the people so they could invest 
it in the stock market. Let's throw the money in the stock market.
  It was amazing that that was something that was brought up around 
2004, 2005, in that timeframe. What happened in 2008? The stock market 
cratered. If people had put their Social Security investments into the 
stock market, they would have been destitute.
  That is what happens when you so-called privatize Social Security. 
The people that want to push that are the ones that want to push the 
stock market up for their own particular personal gain.
  But what it does at the same time is that it endangers and puts at 
risk the lifetime of earnings that people have put into Social Security 
to make their own retirements safe. We can't do that.
  What else? They came up with this wonderful concept, you know. The 
chairman talked about the COLA, the cost-of-living adjustments, that 
come with Social Security.
  Certainly, they haven't been anything to brag about over the years, 
but as meager and as minimal as they have been, something came up about 
10 years ago called change CPI.
  Now, that was a $50 economist's expression that meant lower cost of 
living increases for seniors. That is what they wanted--lower cost-of-
living increases than what you were already getting on Social Security.
  We stood foursquare, shoulder to shoulder, against that ridiculous 
provision, and we put an end to that kind of talk.
  What else? They wanted to raise the retirement age. They always talk 
about that. The right-wingers want to raise the retirement age. How 
fair is that, raising the retirement age for people who have been 
lifting and carrying and climbing and working with their hands and 
putting their backs into their work, a whole lifetime?
  You want to make them work into their 70s? Is that what we think 
Social Security is for? Is that what we think it is all about? 
Absolutely not. Democrats have stood foursquare and shoulder to 
shoulder against that, raising the retirement age.

  But it gets better. As the chairman mentioned, there are enemies to 
Social Security, and, you know, a lot of times they don't say it out 
loud.
  They would like to get rid of Social Security. They would like to 
privatize it. They would like to cut back on the benefits. They wring 
their hands about how much it costs, while all the time ignoring all of 
the people that it saves and keeps out of poverty and away from 
starvation. No, no. They ignore all of that. They would like to do away 
with it.
  You know what? Just recently, these people came out from the shadows 
and identified themselves. In fact, there is a Senator by the name of 
Rick Scott from Florida who has said out loud that he wants Federal 
legislation, including Social Security and Medicare, to sunset every 5 
years and have to be reauthorized by a fresh vote.
  Sunset. Now, that is a euphemism for end. It is a euphemism for 
killing. It is a euphemism for doing away with one of the most 
successful programs in American legislation history. Sunset Social 
Security means do away with it, and that is all they are talking about.
  They have the temerity now to say out loud what many of them have 
been thinking in private: Let's get rid of Social Security. I say, 
enough. Enough of this detraction from Social Security, this wonderful 
program.
  I say, let's listen to Chairman Larson. Let's make Social Security 
stronger. Let's make it better. Let's make it more realistic for the 
benefits that it pays out. Let's raise the benefits by 2 percent. Let's 
make it stronger so it is going to last longer.
  We haven't touched this program for generation after generation. Now 
is the time to enact Social Security 2100 to protect our seniors and 
this wonderful,

[[Page H6905]]

enormously successful insurance program for all Americans; people who 
retire, people who are disabled.
  This is a program that we must honor and respect and raise up, and we 
can accomplish this through this wonderful bill authored by my friend,  
 John Larson of Connecticut, Social Security 2100.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. I thank the gentleman, but it actually is 
authored by 206 Members of the United States Congress, and I appreciate 
all the work that has been done.
  The gentleman was correct. This is the number one antipoverty program 
for the elderly. It is also the number one antipoverty program for 
children. It is also the program that more veterans use for disability 
than any, even the VA. It is the most efficient and effective 
government program in terms of cost.
  They operate in insurance language at what is called a 99 percent 
loss ratio which means this: It costs less than 1 percent 
administrative costs to distribute the greatest insurance program. The 
greatest antipoverty program for the elderly, for children, and for 
veterans is all done by Social Security. That is why we need to expand 
it.
  On the Committee on Ways and Means, Chairman Neal had a Racial Equity 
Committee that our colleagues all participated in, and one of the 
shining stars of that was none other than Stacey Plaskett from the 
Virgin Islands, who understands that if we want to focus on what John 
Lewis called the next great challenge for civil rights, it was to 
recognize how Social Security has treated women and specifically women 
of color and Black males.
  I recognize Stacey Plaskett from the Virgin Islands.
  Ms. PLASKETT. I thank the gentleman for yielding time.
  It is so good to be here with you, to have this discussion about 
Social Security, the importance of this safety net to so many 
Americans, individuals throughout this country, but especially those 
who need it most.
  I'm going to give you some numbers. We have 17,036 retirees; 1,331 
children; spouses, widows, disabled workers. Those are the people in my 
district, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, who receive Social Security 
benefits--almost 20 percent of our population.
  On average, these individuals receive $1,230 per month in benefits. 
That doesn't seem like a lot to so many Americans.
  Yet, for many recipients, they are dependent on those Social Security 
benefits to survive. Social Security payments put food on the table, 
keep roofs overhead, furnish medication.
  Indeed, for about half of senior beneficiaries, Social Security 
provides the majority of their income.
  Social Security is even more important, as you have stated, for 
marginalized communities, particularly women and Black Americans. 
Without Social Security, 43 percent of older women would be living in 
poverty.
  In 2014, 45 percent of all Black senior beneficiaries relied on 
Social Security for all or nearly all of their income.
  Even in light of these details, we all know the Social Security 
system today is inadequate. The American people know it, my 
constituents know it, and I suspect my colleagues across the aisle are 
very much aware of that.

  But I am grateful for you, Congressman Larson, Members of the 
Democratic party, and, in particular, my colleagues on the Ways and 
Means Committee who are exerting leadership, who are deciding to step 
out and do something about it.
  We are not waiting around for the perfect. We are going to do some 
good. Benefits are insufficient. The Social Security trust fund will 
start running dry in 2035. That may be around the time that I need it, 
so we better get working on this. Waiting periods are unnecessarily 
long. It is long past time that we act to repair Social Security.
  So many things in this House we just take for granted that we are 
going to work on, we are going to fix, whether it is roads, 
infrastructure. My gosh. Those are the things that oftentimes it is 
easy for all of us to get behind, but how do we not get behind our 
elders? How do we not get behind those disabled workers, widows?
  Many of my colleagues want to quote the Bible. If they are concerned 
with the widows, if they are concerned with those that are elders, they 
should be concerned with Social Security.
  I am proud when I was approached by you, Mr. Larson, to act as a co-
sponsor of this legislation, H.R. 5723, Social Security 2100, a sacred 
trust.
  This legislation would increase benefits for all Social Security 
beneficiaries. It improves the cost-of-living adjustment, the COLA, to 
reflect inflation.
  My colleagues across the aisle want to talk about inflation all the 
time, but when we try to give them measures to combat it, there is 
nothing they want to do. They vote ``no'' each and every time.
  I can almost expect that when we get to committee, and we are going 
to mark this up as a means to deal with inflation for our elders, they 
are going to say ``no'' to it as well.
  It enhances benefits for widows and widowers, repeals provisions that 
penalize public servants, and ensures that no one retires in poverty.

                              {time}  1500

  H.R. 5723 promotes fairness in our Social Security system. It 
provides a tax cut for middle-income beneficiaries by raising taxation 
thresholds, while also ensuring millionaires and billionaires pay their 
fair share by applying the Social Security payroll tax to income above 
$400,000.
  Finally, this legislation makes practical improvements to Social 
Security services to reduce access barriers. It ends the 5-month 
waiting period to receive benefits, enhances access to legal 
assistance, and prevents unwarranted closures of SSA field offices.
  By increasing benefits, promoting fairness, and improving access, 
Democrats are improving Social Security so it will not only help 
beneficiaries today, but will also help future beneficiaries by 
extending the trust fund's lifespan.
  This legislation may not solve every problem in our Social Security 
system and may not include provisions that every Member desires, but it 
will make a tangible, positive impact on the lives of nearly 70 million 
Americans.
  I know that on the other side we hear things such as an 11-point plan 
to rescue America, and among other things the plan calls for Federal 
legislation to sunset after 5 years so Congress would need to reapprove 
it. We see them discussing 20 percent across-the-board cuts to Social 
Security. We say ``no'' to that. We want to support our elders, support 
the system, give a helping hand, fight inflation.
  As President Franklin Roosevelt stated in 1935 when he signed the 
Social Security Act into law, ``This law, too, represents a cornerstone 
in a structure which is being built, but is by no means complete. . . . 
It is, in short, a law that will take care of human needs and at the 
same time provide the United States an economic structure of vastly 
greater soundness.''
  I urge the House to lay another cornerstone in this unfinished 
structure by passing H.R. 5723. Our moral character as a nation is 
determined not by how we treat corporations and billionaires and the 
powerful but, rather, how we treat the most vulnerable among us: 
Hardworking seniors who have earned a peaceful retirement; people with 
disabilities who need support; veterans who courageously defended their 
country; widows; and children who have lost a loved one.
  They are not asking for a handout or a free ride. Rather, they have 
worked hard to support their families and their countries and have paid 
into the Social Security system. Now they are simply asking their 
government to maintain the promise of Social Security and extend a 
helping hand during hard times.
  I thank my colleagues for the work that has been done to bring this 
to the floor. I also thank our tremendous staff, who have done so much 
of the yeoman's work in bringing information, making sure that we are 
doing the right thing with the numbers, that this is something that is 
sustainable and is going to support not just those people who are 
receiving the benefits, but there is a benefit to all Americans by us 
doing this in the long run.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
her comments, and especially as it relates to staff, also for her 
comments about this is the cornerstone, a key ground-laying cornerstone 
of the human infrastructure.

[[Page H6906]]

  Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time we have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 32 minutes remaining.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), the distinguished vice chair of the 
Subcommittee on Social Security, the leader in Congress on making sure 
that firefighters and police officers and teachers are taken care of 
across the board, but specifically as it relates to Social Security and 
WEP and GPO, to be followed by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois 
Frankel).
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the more than 
124,000 of our neighbors in the 9th Congressional District who rely on 
Social Security each and every month.
  I rise also, Mr. Speaker, because 26 years ago, when I first ran for 
Congress against an incumbent, I was fighting for Social Security 
because it was an issue in that election of 1996, when you had choices.
  Choices. Privatize, and that is the way to get to the goal line, and 
senior housing, senior development, one after the other. The first 
thing I heard when I walked in the door when I was campaigning in the 
first congressional campaign of my life was, ``What are you going to do 
about Social Security?''
  The number of 124,000 is growing in every State every single day. It 
is not getting smaller. We have more of an older community in the 
United States of America. I am proud to have been part of that 
community for a few years. We will leave it at that.
  Social Security is one of our Nation's greatest success stories, and 
after 86 years, Social Security still stands as a monument for decency, 
dignity, and hardworking Americans. We talk about them a lot. We talk 
about the middle class. We talk about the poor. That is what we do, we 
talk a lot about it.
  Yet throughout that storied history, Social Security has been under 
attack. Going back to 1935 and FDR, from day one it has been the 
subject of scurrilous attacks and lies. Those lies continue to this 
day. It has taken its toll.
  Social Security is no grab-bag giveaway, but benefits that you have 
earned, you paid into with your own sweat and toil. Without aggressive 
action, it teeters toward insolvency.
  Congress has a sacred responsibility to protect Social Security for 
today's seniors and for tomorrow's: their kids, their grandkids.
  I am proud to stand here with my very good friend, Representative   
John Larson, as a strong supporter of his Social Security 2100 Act. 
This historic bill will ensure the strength and solvency of Social 
Security for today's seniors.
  The Social Security 2100 Act provides fully paid-for benefit 
enhancements, not cuts in benefits. Oh, please notice who is advocating 
for those cuts. Not just seniors; those to-be-seniors and their kids 
and grandkids. It keeps President Biden's promise to not raise taxes on 
middle-class families. This is a no-brainer.
  Among its many improvements, this bill eliminates the unnecessary 5-
month disability benefits waiting period. That, coupled with the 
inadequacy of our postal officials, is enough to do away with the 
seniors, I will tell you that. I hope that is not the plan.
  Additionally, it will ensure Americans suffering with terminal and 
debilitating disorders like Huntington's disease get the help they need 
without red tape or delay.
  Importantly, we have updated the legislation so that our 
firefighters, police, teachers, and other public servants--we are 
always putting our arms around them--will now receive the full Social 
Security benefits that they have earned.
  Social Security lifts more Americans out of poverty than any other 
Federal program. 21 million each year. For over 40 percent of senior 
beneficiaries, it provides a majority of their income. Their lives 
literally depend on it. That is not an exaggeration, Mr. Speaker. That 
is the importance of Social Security to America.
  We are fighting for our seniors who have worked their entire lives, 
and we are fighting for working families so that no one who pays their 
whole lives should ever retire in poverty. That is a scourge.
  With unified control of government, we must get this done. There are 
no excuses. Congratulations to the committee and its chairman to get us 
this far.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for 
his unwavering support and dedication not only to the firefighters, 
police, and teachers across this country who will benefit from this 
legislation, but all Americans, and especially those in Paterson, New 
Jersey, who he has dedicated his life to serving.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois 
Frankel), a woman who understands the significance of Social Security, 
hailing from the State of Florida, which is probably the senior center 
capital of the world in terms of the population there of senior 
citizens.
  Before yielding to the gentlewoman, I recognize the number of 
committees that have come out in support of this legislation, including 
the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Social 
Security Works, the NAACP, the National Organization of Women, the 
Latinos for a Secure Retirement, the National Education Association, 
the AFT, and more than 350 organizations have come and endorsed the 
work of Lois Frankel, who understands what seniors need not only in 
Florida but across this Nation.
  Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. 
Larson, for spearheading this fight to keep Social Security secure.
  It is hard to believe that Republicans actually want to stop the 
program in 5 years so they can reassess. I tell you, that is big 
trouble. It is big trouble if they do that for the millions and 
millions of Americans who depend on Social Security; 4.5 million, Mr. 
Larson who live in the State of Florida.
  Our workers spend their lives working hard for these benefits, and so 
don't they deserve when they retire to make sure that they have enough 
money to see that their bills are paid? That is why the Social Security 
2100 Act is so important.
  It is going to improve a needed bump to the cost of living. It is 
going to provide a special benefit for low-wage earners, folks like 
waitresses and custodians, nurses' aides, people who are important to 
our economy.
  This is a big deal. It is a big deal, especially for the retirees who 
depend on Social Security to cover their everyday expenses. Just ask 
Alice from my hometown, who was a housekeeper her entire life. She 
worked 40 hours a week until she turned 65. She is earning $923 a month 
on Social Security. Her rent just increased to a whopping $855 a month. 
That is not sustainable. That is not right. That is not what America is 
about. No one who has worked hard their entire life should retire into 
poverty.
  I am proud to join my colleagues, overwhelming support from Democrats 
for the Social Security 2100 Act. It has got the updates we need to 
keep this critical program working now and for the future.
  Let me just say, the timing of this bill could not be more urgent.

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
Florida for her comments.
  Every now and again, we find leaders in the country who may come from 
the House but all of a sudden take on national prominence. Why is that? 
Because they speak straightforwardly to the people, in the case of Tim 
Ryan, in Ohio, but they are really speaking to the entire Nation.
  What are they talking about? The more than 10,000 baby boomers a day 
who become eligible for Social Security and the individuals who have 
worked all of their lives and paid into a program and receive below-
poverty-level checks from their government, and also a pay-for in this 
program that has the wealthiest people paying their fair share simply 
by lifting the cap on people making over $400,000. That is four-tenths 
of 1 percent of the American public. Even with that, they will be 
paying proportionately less than a person earning $35,000 to $50,000 a 
year.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), the next 
Senator from the State of Ohio, the person who speaks to that working 
class, and it resonates not only in Ohio but across this great Nation 
of ours.
  Mr. RYAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
appreciate the opportunity to speak here.

[[Page H6907]]

  I just want to say, I have been in Congress now 20 years, and I have 
known Mr. Larson for that long. He has been an absolute bulldog on this 
issue. I think he understands better than most the impact of this 
program, just consistently, year in and year out, getting this on the 
radar screen. Now, we are going to have a markup next week on this, 
really proposing this at a time of great need.
  The pandemic that we all have experienced over the last few years, 
and the global economic collapse that we saw in the last couple of 
years, I think pulled the veil back on a lot of problems that we have 
had in this country. We could go through the entire list, but I think 
one of them that is most significant is how many people in this 
country, how many seniors in this country, struggle to make ends meet, 
in the wealthiest country on God's green Earth, the most significant, 
most dynamic economy.
  We have a handful of people building their own space stations, going 
into space, and, God bless, that can only happen in America. But the 
reality is that the vast majority of people in this country are still 
struggling.
  What we are talking about here is a group of people who did 
everything right, busted their rear ends their whole life--single moms 
taking care of a couple of kids, people working in factories, people 
waitressing, nurses, public servants, people who are out there every 
single day and have done everything right.
  This is what the Social Security system is all about. I remember when 
my grandparents passed away. I remember going through their drawers at 
their house. You have to clean up everything, and it is really a 
heartbreaking experience.
  I found this little black book that was my great-grandfather's, 
Dominic Guerra. He came over from Italy with 17 bucks in his pocket. It 
was his little black book. I opened it up, and on the left side, it had 
the names of the people who belonged to this group that was called the 
Valsinni Club. He came from a little village in Italy, Valsinni, in the 
southern part, in the Basilicata region. It was the Valsinni Club.
  On the left-hand side were all the names of the Italians from 
Valsinni in Niles, Ohio. At the top of the book were the months of the 
year. So, it would say Dominic Guerra and all of these names--a lot of 
vowels in this book. It would say January, $1; February, $1; March, 
nothing; April, nothing; May, nothing; June, $1. It was the same for 
all the different names that were there.
  It was a mutual aid book. It was insurance. It was just a group of 
people kind of putting their own insurance plan together because, one 
day, I am up and you are down, and the next day, I am down and you are 
up. That was before Social Security and before Medicare, people coming 
together, collectively, to help each other, which is a basic American 
value.
  This system was put in place because that was probably happening all 
across the country with different ethnic groups. Franklin Roosevelt and 
others said, hey, we better do something about this and collectively 
come together. That is what this is about. This is an earned benefit.
  I will tell you that the American value that undergirds this program 
is the same American value that has lit this country up since its 
inception. It is the idea and the value of freedom. Freedom has been 
the principle here in the United States.
  We are talking about economic freedom here. We talk about it with the 
workforce. We talk about it with rebuilding the middle class. Why? So 
people can be free. Economic freedom--don't have to work 50 or 60 hours 
a week. You have time for the things that are important. You have a few 
extra bucks to take your kids to the college football game or, if you 
are into self-flagellation, a Cleveland Browns game, or go fishing, go 
hunting, or have a little boat. Economic freedom.
  When we are talking about our seniors, we are talking about freedom, 
economic freedom for them to live independent lives. Seniors don't want 
to be a burden on their kids. They don't want to be a burden on their 
grandkids.
  What Mr. Larson and what the Social Security 2100 Act are saying is, 
how do we lift everybody up, put a few more bucks in people's pockets 
who have done everything right, making sure people aren't living in 
poverty, making sure they are independent, that they can take care of 
themselves? That is what this bill does. It asks people making over 
$400,000 a year to help make that happen.
  I think this is a significant piece of legislation. I think this 
program is the backbone of the working class.
  I will tell you something else. This program is the backbone of rural 
America, where so many jobs have been lost. It is the backbone of these 
factory towns that have seen so much loss. You have issues around 
addiction, overdose, fentanyl. And grandparents raising grandkids, it 
couldn't happen without Social Security.

  The one significant provision in here is to say if a husband and wife 
are both relying on Social Security and one dies, they are going to get 
at least 75 percent of the total of both recipients. That is a 
significant step because we hear so often of a spouse dying and then, 
all of a sudden, there isn't economic independence anymore, there isn't 
freedom anymore, there isn't the ability to take care of yourself.
  I am here today to say this is a phenomenal thing. I think when most 
Americans--Democrat, Republican, and Independent--hear about this, 
there is going to be and continue to be significant support for these 
reforms.
  I hope this bill gets marked up. I hope it comes to this floor for a 
vote. I hope the Senate agrees, and I hope we pass it and reform it. 
Then, we are going to lift up millions of people, millions of seniors, 
in this country. We have   John Larson to thank for that.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Ohio for his remarks. I am so proud he is going to be going to the 
United States Senate because, in the United States Senate, Mr. Scott 
from Florida has proposed ending Social Security in 5 years. Ohio needs 
to make sure that it is sending someone to the United States Senate who 
is not going to end Social Security in 5 years but is going to expand 
Social Security now, when we need it, when we are in the worst pandemic 
in the history of the country, when we are suffering through inflation. 
The time to act is now.
  As Martin Luther King would say, it is the fierce urgency of now. It 
has been 51 years since Congress has done anything.
  That is something that Ted Lieu of California understands and has 
been working tirelessly, as an original cosponsor of this bill, to 
reach out not only to the citizens of California but all across this 
country to make sure that they are going to have the benefits that can 
sustain them. Our goal is to expand benefits, not cut them.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lieu).
  Mr. LIEU. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Larson for yielding.
  Democrats are focused on putting people over politics by lowering 
costs, increasing American jobs, and having safe communities.
  What are Republicans focused on? Ending Social Security. How do we 
know that? They put it in writing. They want to end Social Security in 
5 years.
  We need to not only end the Republicans' ability to end Social 
Security; we need to expand Social Security. That is why I am so proud 
to be here to support   John Larson's Social Security 2100: A Sacred 
Trust.
  In my district alone, there are nearly 120,000 Social Security 
recipients who receive an average, in total, of $209 million of monthly 
benefits. This is a vital, critical program, lifesaving for millions of 
Americans.
  Why is it called a sacred trust? It is called a sacred trust because 
our government promised, over 85 years ago, that if you contribute to 
Social Security with each and every paycheck, you can retire with 
dignity. President Biden has called that a sacred trust. Chairman 
Larson's sacred trust bill is how we need to make Social Security 
stronger and even better.
  I think it is important to talk about how awesome this bill is. Let 
me talk to you about some of the provisions.
  It has a benefit bump for current and new Social Security 
beneficiaries of 2 percent. In addition, it has protection against 
inflation, and it does that by improving the outdated COLA formula that 
currently is in Social Security.

[[Page H6908]]

  The bill also improves Social Security benefits for widows and 
widowers. This bill repeals the windfall elimination provision. It ends 
the 5-month waiting period to receive disability benefits.
  The bill also provides caregiver credits toward Social Security. It 
extends Social Security dependent benefits. It increases access to 
Social Security dependent benefits for children who live with 
grandparents or other relatives.
  The bill also requires the Social Security agency to mail annual 
statements to all workers, and it improves access to legal 
representation for people seeking long-term disability benefits.
  This is an awesome bill. This is exactly the kind of legislation that 
we need to move off the floor, and it is in stark contrast to what 
Republicans are doing.
  Again, Republicans want to end Social Security in 5 years. How do we 
know that? They put it in writing. Not just one Republican, but 
multiple Republicans.
  It is a severe danger to our Nation if we wipe out this lifesaving 
program. It is important that we not only make sure that that doesn't 
happen but that we expand Social Security, especially coming out of a 
pandemic where people are facing all of these challenges and obstacles. 
Folks on fixed incomes cannot often get additional income, and that is 
why the only way to do this is to increase Social Security. We do that 
by passing   John Larson's Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
California for his comments.
  I will point out that this is a bipartisan plan, probably more 
correctly called nonpartisan. Why? Because Independents, Democrats, and 
Republicans of all ages, of all backgrounds and ethnic groups, support 
Social Security because it is, as President Biden indicated, a sacred 
trust.
  As Congressman Ryan pointed out, whether you are in a rural area or 
an urban area, whether you are on the coast or in the Great Plains of 
this country, you are impacted by Social Security. This is about your 
mother and father. It is about your brothers and sisters.

                              {time}  1530

  It is what I call the great mirror test. If you can look your 
constituents in the eye--and we have provided every Member of Congress 
with a card that says: How many of your constituents receive Social 
Security?
  It is Congress' responsibility. This is not something that can happen 
through executive order. This is not something that the Supreme Court 
is going to rule on. This is only something that Congress can do.
  We are blessed in the House that we have a great leader in Nancy 
Pelosi. It was Nancy Pelosi, back in 2005 that led the charge that was 
``Horatius at the bridge,'' so to speak, to prevent the privatization 
of Social Security, and we were successful.
  Thank God we were, for had that plan succeeded, 2008 and 2009 would 
have been far more disastrous. Yet, as we all know, Social Security, in 
the midst of that recession, never missed a payment, not a spousal or a 
dependent payment, not a disability payment, and not a pension payment.
  And now it is Nancy Pelosi as well. Along with President Biden and 
Democrats--and frankly, a number of Republicans--who know in their 
hearts and know because when they give that mirror test and go home and 
look at their family members, in the midst of this pandemic, in the 
midst of this inflation, the most successful and the most efficiently 
run governmental program that we have should be embraced by everyone to 
give the access and relief that our seniors need, that our disabled 
veterans need, that our children continue to need.
  President Eisenhower and President Nixon, the last President under 
whom we expanded Social Security benefits, that was in 1971, and a 
gallon of milk cost 72 cents--what seniors have endured. And like most, 
like my mother, would turn to their children and say: Don't worry about 
me. I don't want to be a burden.
  My mother--all mothers--were never a burden. They were an inspiration 
to us all. And we all owe it to them to make sure that they live out 
their lives in the simple dignity of knowing they can't retire into 
poverty. That is the promise of Social Security. It hasn't kept pace. 
How could it if it hasn't been expanded in 51 years.
  Now its solvency is in question and this bill expands its solvency. 
And, most importantly, it expands the benefits that are so vitally 
needed--especially, as Mr. Pascrell pointed out--to teachers, 
firefighters, police officers, and municipal employees, who, through no 
fault of their own, have found themselves on the short end of Congress' 
inaction. It is the fierce urgency of now.
  When you go home and when you travel to a senior center, ask your 
constituents--and face them eyeball to eyeball and say: How can I help 
you?
  They will respond: By fixing Social Security. By giving us a COLA 
that actually reflects the costs that we incur, that don't tax us while 
we still work because we have to make ends meet, to make sure that we 
are expanding benefits across the board for everyone--because it is 
everyone's program--and make sure that the wealthy pay their fair 
share.
  That is what President Biden has called for. That is why it is a 
sacred trust. That is why we are proud to put this before us and say we 
are here to expand Social Security, not end this. Please, I beg of my 
colleagues on the other side, join us in expanding benefits that you 
know need to be expanded on behalf of the citizens you represent.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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