[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14802]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            SOCIAL SECURITY

  (Ms. SHEA-PORTER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Mr. Speaker, some of my friends on the other side of 
the aisle are always warning the young people of this country that 
Social Security won't be there for them, so we should just scrap it 
now, raise the retirement age, and privatize Social Security. They are 
wrong.
  Social Security is critical for those who depend on it. It is 
essential for the family who has a loved one who needs disability 
insurance. It's essential for our senior citizens who paid their whole 
lives into a system so they would have a safety net when they need it 
most. However, Social Security is not just a retirement benefit; it's 
also an insurance program. If a spouse or parent of a child dies, 
Social Security is there for his or her widow, widower or child. This 
is not just a retirement program for seniors. It's a social safety net 
for all of us.
  The young people of this country need to know Social Security is 
there for them and that it can be there in the future, just as it was 
for generations and for our seniors today. However, we must fiercely 
defend Social Security from some Republican efforts to privatize funds 
and gamble it on Wall Street. We must protect and strengthen Social 
Security, not dismantle it.



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