[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10875-10876]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      PROTECTING SENIOR CITIZENS FROM THE RAID ON SOCIAL SECURITY

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Social Security didn't create the deficit, but 
America's seniors are being presented with a fake Social Security 
crisis to try to trick them into accepting reduced benefits.
  Social Security will be able to pay 100 percent of its benefits 
through 2037 without any changes whatsoever. So why the panic today? If 
seniors accept cuts in Social Security benefits today, a surplus cash 
flow will build in the Social Security Trust Fund. According to CRS, 
``Social Security's cash surpluses are borrowed by the U.S. Treasury 
and can be used for tax cuts, spending, or repaying debt.''
  So here's what's going on: Social Security benefit cuts or an 
increase in taxes paid to Social Security or extending the retirement 
age will give the government more money for tax cut spending or 
repaying the debt, except for one thing: Social Security money belongs 
to those who have paid into the fund. It's not the government's money 
to use, and it shouldn't be the government's money to play with.

[[Page 10876]]

  Senior citizens should not have to accept a reduced standard of 
living to finance tax cuts for the rich.
  We must take a stand for senior citizens and protect Social Security 
and protect future generations from this raid on Social Security funds.

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