[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 70 (Monday, April 28, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H1631-H1632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REPUBLICANS PLAN TO CUT SOCIAL SECURITY

  (Mr. Larson of Connecticut was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I rise to first and 
foremost submit an article by--I hope everyone gets to read it. We will 
be circulating it to all Members--about the Trump plan to go after our 
university system and destroy the research that goes on at our 
universities and massive cuts. As Mr. Zakaria points out, this would 
decimate our economy, and I think every Member of Congress needs to 
know.
  Madam Speaker, I also heard Representative John Kasich on television, 
just before I came here, talking about how Democrats don't have a plan; 
they don't have a plan that they are going to utilize. I have great 
respect for John, but I will say yes, under Hakeem Jeffries, we do have 
a plan, especially as it relates to Social Security.
  Our colleagues on the other side do not have a plan, or the plan that 
they have proposed is to cut benefits to Social Security.
  Madam Speaker, I don't know if you realize how many Social Security 
recipients you have in your district, but there are over 170,000 of 
them, including 134,000 retirees, including 18,000 disabled workers, 
8,000 widows, 3,000 spouses, and 9,000 children.
  Madam Speaker, here is the most important thing. Most Members of 
Congress don't realize this. Do you know how much money comes into your 
district monthly to those recipients? That is $318 million that Mr. 
Trump and Republican leadership want to cut.
  A 20 percent cut across the board to Social Security would decimate 
people across all districts, including Iowa and Connecticut and every 
other district.
  We have a plan. Here is our plan. Social Security--and the American 
people, especially the people in our audience today ought to 
understand--hasn't been enhanced by Congress since 1971. Richard Nixon 
was President of the United States. There are more than 70 million 
Americans who rely on Social Security. Of those 70 million, for over 30 
million of them, this is the only retirement benefit that they have.
  Madam Speaker, we want to make sure that there is an across-the-board 
increase. Under the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries, that is what you 
will see, an across-the-board increase, a tax cut proposal for people 
who have to work out of necessity who would end up having to pay taxes 
on their Social Security. We pay for it to make sure that it doesn't 
impact the trust fund.
  We also pay for the repeal of WEP and GPO because that is vitally 
important as well. We also make sure that there is no longer a waiting 
period for disability where we see that so many people have died 
waiting to receive their disability payment.
  It is long overdue for the number one antipoverty program for the 
elderly

[[Page H1632]]

and for children of this country. More disability goes out to veterans 
from Social Security than goes out from the VA.
  Congress needs to act. I would hope it would be bipartisan, but we 
can't even get a hearing, let alone pass a bill.
  What is there to be afraid of? Every constituent listening to this 
ought to demand of their Member of Congress--if you disagree, if you 
have got a better plan, for God's sake, put it forward. How much longer 
do the American people have to wait to receive the benefits that they 
paid for?
  This is an earned benefit. This is no entitlement like the other side 
calls it. People paid for it, and you can check it out right on your 
paycheck. It says FICA, Federal insurance contribution. Whose? Yours. 
You have paid for this benefit. Your government, your Congress, has let 
you down. They have not addressed this since 1971. It is long overdue 
that we not only address this but enhance this so that Americans get 
what they richly deserve, especially those in Iowa.

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