[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H4538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SOCIAL SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about 
the Nation's number one antipoverty program for the elderly and the 
number one antipoverty program for our children. That program, Mr. 
Speaker, as you know, is Social Security.
  Mr. Speaker, and for the members in the gallery, I think it is 
important to understand the statistics that we are dealing with, most 
importantly, that there are now close to 70 million Americans who rely 
on Social Security, 40 percent of whom rely on a pension which is the 
only benefit that they have.
  It is a testament to the genius of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. What is 
required in an entrepreneurial capitalist system is that there be a 
safety net for people.
  Even more so, imagine that 10,000 baby boomers a day become eligible 
for Social Security. It is disheartening that Congress, the institution 
primarily responsible for Social Security's enhancement and protection, 
has not done anything in 53 years. Richard Nixon was the President of 
the United States the last time Social Security was enhanced.
  Five million of our fellow citizens get below poverty-level checks 
from Social Security, the greatest insurance program in the Nation's 
history, but Congress has not attended to the program. That is why this 
is so vitally important that we do so.
  Mr. Speaker, as you know, in Idaho in the First District there are 
219,000-plus Social Security recipients, 170,000-plus who are retirees, 
and 21,000 who get disability. There are 10,000-plus widows, 5,600 
spouses, and 11,000 children in Idaho who rely on Social Security. It 
brings in $388 million monthly to the First District and has not been 
adjusted in more than 50 years. This is an outrage.
  When Members learn of this and when the public is aware of this, they 
say: Why hasn't Congress acted?
  President Biden has suggested, and it makes sense, that in this great 
Nation of ours, why shouldn't everybody pay the same?
  So he said: Let's just simply lift the cap on people making over 
$400,000 who don't pay nearly the same that a person making $30,000, 
$50,000, $75,000, or $100,000 does who pay into the program.
  In doing so, we would be able to enhance Social Security not only in 
Idaho but across the entire United States.
  Even former President Trump now is apparently changing the Republican 
platform to say that we are going to protect Social Security.
  It is not enough to protect Social Security. Congress hasn't done 
anything in more than 53 years. So that means whether you are in Idaho 
or whether you are in Connecticut, those very citizens, those 10,000-a-
day baby boomers who expect their Congress to take action on their 
behalf, need to enhance a program that provides them with the benefits. 
That money goes directly into every congressional district and every 
congressional community.
  Where do the citizens spend that money?
  They spend it at the grocery store, at the pharmacy, and at the gas 
station. It goes to the essential needs that Americans require. That is 
why Social Security is the number one antipoverty program for the 
elderly and also the number one antipoverty program for children.
  What Congress needs to do is not talk about it. It needs to vote. 
Citizens in the gallery and across this Nation should demand that the 
United States Congress vote on Social Security and correct something 
that has gone in disrepair for more than 50 years.

                          ____________________