[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12225-12226]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


              INTRODUCTION OF THE ONE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. XAVIER BECERRA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 22, 2015

  Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, for nearly 80 years, Social Security has 
helped protect and nurture the American dream. Americans know if they 
work hard and pay into Social Security, they and their families will 
receive Social Security's earned benefits when they need them, for as 
long as they need them.
  Congress has always honored that commitment, making adjustments and 
corrections to the law as needed, from time to time, so that all 
Americans receive the Social Security benefits they earned through a 
lifetime of work. Now Congress must act again. If we don't, 11 million 
Americans will have their Social Security benefits cut by 20 percent 
next year.
  Let me explain.
  Social Security is the heart of economic security for American 
workers, allowing them to earn birth-to-death protection against the 
loss of income from work, in one simple package. One seamless Social 
Security system insures American workers and their families (1) in the 
case of premature death, (2) if they have to stop working due to a 
disability or very serious illness, and (3) when they reach retirement.
  What many people don't know is that after we make our Social Security 
tax contribution through each paycheck, the law requires that it be 
distributed into in two different trust funds--one that pays for 
benefits we qualify for if a wage-earner dies, or when we retire, and 
one that pays for benefits we earn if we become too sick or disabled to 
work.
  All American workers contribute to both funds, with the vast majority 
of their contributions being deposited in the retirement and survivor 
fund. But in practice, Congress and the American public have simply 
treated the two funds as one unified financing system, which guarantees 
payment of all Social Security earned benefits. In fact, Congress has 
routinely rebalanced the allocation of workers' contributions between 
the two funds to ensure that all benefits can be paid. For example, in 
1980 and again in 1983, Congress shifted funds from the disability fund 
in order to shore up the retirement and survivor fund, and then in 
1994, the most recent reallocation, Congress shifted some of the 
incoming contributions back to the disability fund, ensuring that it 
could pay benefits through 2016.
  Now it's 2015. Social Security has an overall surplus of $2.8 
trillion, which all workers helped build up. Those who receive Social 
Security due to a disability worked and paid into Social Security for 
an average of 22 years to earn their benefits, making a significant 
contribution to the surplus. But because Social Security is legally 
required to pay Social Security benefits earned because of a disability 
only out of the disability fund, the benefits of Americans who receive 
Social Security because of a disability will be cut by 20 percent 
unless Congress takes action to permit Social Security to use all its 
available funds to pay all earned benefits.
  Social Security is one unified system. It's wrong to separate out 
Social Security Americans qualify for because of a disability from the 
rest of Social Security. It's wrong to delay action on legislation to 
pay Americans the Social Security benefits they earned and need to 
live.
  Americans know we have one Social Security, and they are counting on 
Congress to act now to protect all of it, not just some pieces of it.
  Just like 168 million other Americans, I pay into Social Security 
with every paycheck. I make one contribution--just one--to earn Social 
Security's lifetime, all-in-one protection. I don't make different 
contributions for disability, for retirement, and for my survivors. 
It's all one--just one Social Security.
  When we begin our working lives, none of us knows what kind of 
insurance from Social

[[Page 12226]]

Security we'll need, or at what stage of our lives we'll need it. Some 
workers will die young, leaving family who can rely on Social Security 
survivors' protection. The majority of seniors depend on Social 
Security as their primary source of retirement income. And no one 
expects to suffer a career-ending disability, but if they do, Social 
Security is there for them. There's one Social Security that covers it 
all.
  For millions of Americans, that one Social Security coverage--``there 
when you need it''--is a lifeline. Social Security's survivor insurance 
is the equivalent of a $476,000 life insurance policy for a worker with 
young children. More than half of workers who receive Social Security 
disability insurance payments because of a work-ending illness or 
injury would live in poverty without Social Security. Many will not 
survive to receive retirement benefits. Death rates for disability 
recipients are three to six times higher than for others their age. And 
unlike most other retirement benefits, Social Security is inflation-
protected and cannot be outlived, which is why 44 percent of seniors 
who are 80 and over have little or nothing other than Social Security 
to live on.
  Today I am introducing the One Social Security Act to make sure we 
don't break Social Security's simple promise to every American worker--
if you pay into one Social Security, you and your family will receive 
your full earned benefits, of whatever kind, when you need them.
  The One Social Security Act would prevent the scheduled 20 percent 
cut in Social Security benefits for 11 million Americans by merging 
Social Security's trust funds into a single comprehensive fund. This 
would allow all American workers access to their fair share of Social 
Security's worker-generated $2.8 trillion surplus, to pay the benefits 
they earned. Except for preventing the cut, the bill would not change 
Social Security benefits or overall Social Security solvency, as 
projected in the Trustees Report released today.
  Creating one unified trust fund for one Social Security is just 
common sense, and long overdue. In fact, it was unanimously endorsed by 
the bipartisan 1979 Advisory Council on Social Security--a 
distinguished federal advisory panel that was charged with making 
recommendations to Congress on all aspects of Social Security. They 
found that there was ``no longer a need'' for separate trust funds. The 
Advisory Council concluded that the two-trust fund system, with its 
need for periodic reallocations, ``is cumbersome and can cause needless 
public worry about the financial integrity of the Social Security 
system.''
  The bill has been endorsed by thirty-six organizations representing 
American workers, people with disabilities, and senior citizens. They 
know it's the right solution to protect Social Security.
  The earned benefits of 11 million Americans are not something we can 
let hang in the balance. They are a solemn obligation. We have only one 
Social Security. I look forward to working with my colleagues, on a 
bipartisan basis, to honor that obligation, so that we can move forward 
and find the best way to preserve and strengthen all of Social Security 
for the generations to come.

                          ____________________