[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2041]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                            SOCIAL SECURITY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 10, 2015

  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, this week, Americans making more than one 
million dollars a year will get a tax break. Not because Congress 
approved one, but because they've already reached the maximum amount of 
income that is subject to the Social Security tax. That's right--those 
making more than one million dollars have already reached the income 
cap of $118,500, and we're not even six weeks into the year.
  This gaping loophole allows billionaire hedge fund managers and 
corporate CEOs to pay a lower percentage of their income into Social 
Security than teachers, police officers and healthcare workers. Ninety-
four percent of American workers pay Social Security tax on all of 
their income. But the wealthiest six percent are exempt from doing the 
same. By closing this loophole, we can make sure that every American 
pays exactly the same percentage of their income into Social Security.
  Ending this tax racket for the wealthy also ensures that Social 
Security will continue paying full benefits to every single American 
who pays in. We have a choice: we can tell our children and 
grandchildren that their Social Security benefits will be cut in order 
to maintain a regressive tax that benefits only the richest six 
percent, or we can close this loophole and guarantee that if you pay 
into the program, you will receive the full Social Security benefits 
you were promised.
  Unfortunately, this is not the conversation that has dominated 
Washington, DC in recent years. Instead, some of my colleagues in 
Congress would prefer to manufacture a crisis in order to privatize the 
entire system, leaving seniors' benefits at the mercy of Wall Street 
power brokers. They want you to think the system cannot be fixed and 
that Social Security as we know it is doomed. We can prove them wrong. 
If every American pays their fair share into the system, we can make 
sure the government fulfills its obligation to America's seniors.

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