[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 10, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2718-S2719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SOCIAL SECURITY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I was first elected to the House of 
Representatives, here in Washington, in 1982. That is a long time ago, 
but I remember very well my first year in the House.
  Politically, I was scared to death. It was my first election victory, 
and I had defeated a 22-year Republican incumbent Congressman. I was 
looking over my shoulder every day, every minute, every bill, every 
vote, thinking: This is it. I can't get this done.
  And then they came around and told us something I didn't want to hear 
at all. They said: Incidentally, the Social Security system is going 
broke, and it will happen within a year or 2, and we have to fix it.
  I thought to myself: This is the end of me. No matter what they come 
up with--whatever proposal it is--the controversy will be so intense 
that it will cost me my congressional seat.
  I listened to the debate, and I saw the end product that was 
suggested, in 1983, for 50 years of solvency for Social Security and 
decided, in the end, that the responsible thing to do was to vote for 
it.
  We passed it. We waited to see what the electorate would do. Not a 
single Member of the House of Representatives of either party lost an 
election attributable to the Social Security vote.
  By making some hard decisions in a timely fashion, saving Social 
Security, we did the right thing for America, and, politically, it 
turned out to be a safe thing, whether we believed it at the time or 
not.
  So now we face another crisis in Social Security. The 50 years of 
solvency which we bought in 1983 is running out. The Social Security 
Board of Trustees releases a report that tells us about the status of 
Social Security finances. Their 2026 report, released yesterday, should 
send alarm bells through Congress. According to the Board of Trustees, 
the Social Security trust fund will be unable to make full scheduled 
payments in 2032.

  So the effort that I was involved in, in 1983, paid off. We bought 50 
years, but now what are we going to do?
  Just 6 years from now, Social Security will only be able to pay 78 
percent of current benefits. What does that mean?
  I will give you a rough illustration. The average Social Security 
check in the United States is around $2,500. If you reduce it by 22 
percent, people will receive about $450 less each month.
  It means that beneficiaries across our Nation will see their benefit 
checks cut by 22 percent. Twenty-two percent means $455. It is about or 
around the average a retired household spends on groceries each month.
  That could be devastating. We cannot let it happen.
  Roughly, 70 million Americans--seniors and people with disabilities--
rely on Social Security for food, medication, housing, and utilities. 
In my home State Illinois, over 2.3 million people receive Social 
Security. Twenty percent of seniors in Illinois rely on it for all or 
nearly all of their income. It is all they have. Each year, Social 
Security lifts 533,000 seniors 65 and over out of poverty in my State.
  Social Security is a lifeline that they earned after a lifetime of 
hard work. But many beneficiaries still struggle with living expenses. 
Every day, seniors are forced to make decisions most Americans pray 
they will never have to face, like whether to buy groceries or pay the 
utility bill, refill their medications or pay their rent or mortgage.
  Now, if we do nothing--if Congress does nothing--with this Board of 
Trustees report, every single Senator faces the prospect of making do 
with $455 less a month in just 6 years.
  These are not hypotheticals. Every single Senator has received these 
heartbreaking stories from constituents about what they are doing, 
struggling to survive on a fixed income or Social Security.
  One of my constituents Kimberly shared her appreciation of Social 
Security and said it is traced back to her grandmother, who was a maid 
and commuted to the suburbs from Chicago to work each day.
  Kimberly said her grandmother stopped school in the ninth grade and 
had a family of eight children. When she retired after her husband 
died, she relied heavily on Social Security.
  Kimberly said:

       Social Security was [my mom's] monthly stream of income--
     her only monthly stream of income.

  So why haven't we done something to avoid this deadline in 2032? It 
is because we have a fear of doing what is right and maybe politically 
unpopular.
  Every year, when the Social Security Trustees Report is released, we 
again bury our heads in the sand and say: Thank goodness some future 
Congress will take care of this problem.
  Social Security is a bedrock promise we made to America--the most 
fundamental safety net program in America--and I am concerned that 
Congress will wait until the absolute last minute to try to do anything 
to save it. That would make it extremely difficult and make it 
irresponsible conduct and unacceptable.
  Earlier today, I released a bipartisan statement. Yes, Senators of 
both political parties issued a statement together. Senators Bill 
Cassidy, Tim Kaine, Thom Tillis, and I are saying to Congress: Don't 
wait. Do something.
  We must find a way for Congress to debate this issue in a 
transparent, fair, and bipartisan way, a mechanism that forces us to 
make meaningful, important policy choices.
  Several of us have been working together, trying to figure out how we 
can strengthen Social Security for future generations of retirees. We 
say to our colleagues: Join us in doing what we were elected to do--
legislate on hard issues and protect this lifeline program, Social 
Security, for our kids and grandkids, because we do not have a shortage 
of ideas. What we lack is the will to do it.
  There are many bills that are out there. The senior Senator from 
Vermont has a bill to address this crisis; the junior Senator from 
Rhode Island, the same; the senior Senator from Hawaii, equally. The 
senior Senator from Louisiana is working on it as well.
  Good ideas are out there, but we need to come together on a 
bipartisan basis and agree on a path that buys 50 years of solvency at 
a minimum. Those Senators worked their proposals for a long time. They 
want to present them to the Senate, and they should.
  But to do that, we have to do something we haven't done in a long 
time. Get ready. Buckle your seatbelts. I am talking about legislating, 
actually bringing a measure to the floor and opening it to amendment. 
We would say: You could offer an amendment, if you wish, to anyone's 
proposal for Social Security, but whatever you do, it has to buy a 
minimum of 50 years of solvency for Social Security. And then let's 
vote.
  There will be some ideas that will be crazy and that you wouldn't 
even consider them. But I think we can work to a bipartisan solution to 
our challenge as well.

[[Page S2719]]

  These measures should be debated, receive a vote, and have their own 
chance to become law. Let's not run away from this responsibility 
anymore. Let's not say: It is somebody else's problem.
  We were elected to solve problems, and there is no greater problem 
than the solvency and the future of Social Security.
  If you think I am making that up, blowing smoke, ask senior citizens 
how important Social Security is. They will tell you it is critical for 
their survival.
  We were sent to Congress to legislate and work on hard issues. Four 
Senators--two Democrats and two Republicans--are stepping forward and 
saying: We can work on this together.
  We owe it to our kids and grandkids to protect and bolster this 
critically important program.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.

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