Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the body to talk about Social Security.

I am pleased to be joined by so many of my colleagues from across the country who understand what Martin Luther King called the fierce urgency of now, and why the United States Congress has to act.

It has been more than 51 years since the United States Congress has enhanced the benefits of Social Security. Richard Nixon was President, and a gallon of milk cost 72 cents.

Much has changed in 51 years, and now, I am proud to announce today that the Ways and Means Committee will be marking up Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust, next Wednesday and, in doing so, for the first time in 51 years Congress will be moving forward to enhance benefits for those who need it the most.

Why do I say that?

Everybody in America knows that this pandemic, this global pandemic that we are in, has caused unbelievable harm across the globe and here in this country.

But who has it affected the most?

Of the close to 1 million people who have perished in the United States, over 756,000 of them are over the age of 65.

And who is the group that has been hurt the most by the ensuing inflation that comes from a global pandemic and a war in Ukraine?

It is people on a fixed income. It is the more than 65 million Americans that are on Social Security.

I commend President Biden for taking the leadership in this area; who campaigned across the country, assuring Americans that Social Security was a sacred trust; which, indeed, it is because it has never missed a payment.

We used to have to go back to 1935 and talk about the Great Depression. We only have to go back as far as 2008 and 2009 because people understand during the Great Recession, when they saw their 401(k) become a 101(k), that Social Security never missed a payment, not a pension payment, not a spousal payment, not a dependent payment, not a disability payment.

It is America's number one insurance program. And all Americans know this, and it is easily verified, weekly or monthly, when they look at their paycheck and it says FICA, Federal Insurance Contribution.

Whose?

Theirs. It is an earned benefit that they have paid into throughout their lives.

And yet, Congress has not acted in 51 years, until now. Under the leadership of President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Chairman Richard Neal, we are moving forward with legislation that will provide much- needed relief to people struggling in this pandemic and dealing with inflation.

I am pleased that I am joined today by so many of my colleagues who have told their stories over and over again about the citizens that they are interacting with, and what an enormous burden this pandemic and inflation has caused for them, and now, finally, for Congress to act.

And how so?

Improving benefits across the board by more than 2 percent for everyone; making sure that nobody who worked all their lives and paid into a system can retire into poverty; making sure that we have a COLA that actually reflects the cost that people incur; making sure that we repeal WEP and GPO, so that teachers and firefighters--something that Mr. Pascrell has championed his whole time here in Congress--understand that relief is on its way because Democrats care deeply about this.

We are faced, as well, with an alternative from the other side. And here is the simple difference. Republicans have proposed to end Social Security. Republicans have proposed to cut Social Security across the board by more than 21 percent in 20 different separate proposals in their Republican Study Plan.

They have also called, in committee, in the eight hearings that we have had on Social Security, to still privatize Social Security.

Democrats stand, not just to protect Social Security, but to expand Social Security for those that need it the most. And those assembled here today understand how vitally important it is.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the ``deaness'' of the House of Representatives, and someone who understands intuitively, women need this benefit the most. And in this country more than 3 million Americans receive below poverty-level checks from Social Security, and the vast majority of them are women.

I thank Ms. Kaptur and greatly appreciate the gentlewoman from Ohio's comments.

I yield to the gentleman Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright), who also understands and has worked tirelessly as an original cosponsor of this bill to make sure that several of the benefits, more than 14 enhancements to this bill, are now going to be enjoyed by the people of Pennsylvania and all across this Nation.

I thank the gentleman, but it actually is authored by 206 Members of the United States Congress, and I appreciate all the work that has been done.

The gentleman was correct. This is the number one antipoverty program for the elderly. It is also the number one antipoverty program for children. It is also the program that more veterans use for disability than any, even the VA. It is the most efficient and effective government program in terms of cost.

They operate in insurance language at what is called a 99 percent loss ratio which means this: It costs less than 1 percent administrative costs to distribute the greatest insurance program. The greatest antipoverty program for the elderly, for children, and for veterans is all done by Social Security. That is why we need to expand it.

On the Committee on Ways and Means, Chairman Neal had a Racial Equity Committee that our colleagues all participated in, and one of the shining stars of that was none other than Stacey Plaskett from the Virgin Islands, who understands that if we want to focus on what John Lewis called the next great challenge for civil rights, it was to recognize how Social Security has treated women and specifically women of color and Black males.

I recognize Stacey Plaskett from the Virgin Islands.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments, and especially as it relates to staff, also for her comments about this is the cornerstone, a key ground-laying cornerstone of the human infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time we have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), the distinguished vice chair of the Subcommittee on Social Security, the leader in Congress on making sure that firefighters and police officers and teachers are taken care of across the board, but specifically as it relates to Social Security and WEP and GPO, to be followed by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel).

I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his unwavering support and dedication not only to the firefighters, police, and teachers across this country who will benefit from this legislation, but all Americans, and especially those in Paterson, New Jersey, who he has dedicated his life to serving.

Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel), a woman who understands the significance of Social Security, hailing from the State of Florida, which is probably the senior center capital of the world in terms of the population there of senior citizens.

Before yielding to the gentlewoman, I recognize the number of committees that have come out in support of this legislation, including the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Social Security Works, the NAACP, the National Organization of Women, the Latinos for a Secure Retirement, the National Education Association, the AFT, and more than 350 organizations have come and endorsed the work of Lois Frankel, who understands what seniors need not only in Florida but across this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for her comments.

Every now and again, we find leaders in the country who may come from the House but all of a sudden take on national prominence. Why is that? Because they speak straightforwardly to the people, in the case of Tim Ryan, in Ohio, but they are really speaking to the entire Nation.

What are they talking about? The more than 10,000 baby boomers a day who become eligible for Social Security and the individuals who have worked all of their lives and paid into a program and receive below- poverty-level checks from their government, and also a pay-for in this program that has the wealthiest people paying their fair share simply by lifting the cap on people making over $400,000. That is four-tenths of 1 percent of the American public. Even with that, they will be paying proportionately less than a person earning $35,000 to $50,000 a year.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), the next Senator from the State of Ohio, the person who speaks to that working class, and it resonates not only in Ohio but across this great Nation of ours.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for his remarks. I am so proud he is going to be going to the United States Senate because, in the United States Senate, Mr. Scott from Florida has proposed ending Social Security in 5 years. Ohio needs to make sure that it is sending someone to the United States Senate who is not going to end Social Security in 5 years but is going to expand Social Security now, when we need it, when we are in the worst pandemic in the history of the country, when we are suffering through inflation. The time to act is now.

As Martin Luther King would say, it is the fierce urgency of now. It has been 51 years since Congress has done anything.

That is something that Ted Lieu of California understands and has been working tirelessly, as an original cosponsor of this bill, to reach out not only to the citizens of California but all across this country to make sure that they are going to have the benefits that can sustain them. Our goal is to expand benefits, not cut them.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lieu).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for his comments.

I will point out that this is a bipartisan plan, probably more correctly called nonpartisan. Why? Because Independents, Democrats, and Republicans of all ages, of all backgrounds and ethnic groups, support Social Security because it is, as President Biden indicated, a sacred trust.

As Congressman Ryan pointed out, whether you are in a rural area or an urban area, whether you are on the coast or in the Great Plains of this country, you are impacted by Social Security. This is about your mother and father. It is about your brothers and sisters.

It is what I call the great mirror test. If you can look your constituents in the eye--and we have provided every Member of Congress with a card that says: How many of your constituents receive Social Security?

It is Congress' responsibility. This is not something that can happen through executive order. This is not something that the Supreme Court is going to rule on. This is only something that Congress can do.

We are blessed in the House that we have a great leader in Nancy Pelosi. It was Nancy Pelosi, back in 2005 that led the charge that was ``Horatius at the bridge,'' so to speak, to prevent the privatization of Social Security, and we were successful.

Thank God we were, for had that plan succeeded, 2008 and 2009 would have been far more disastrous. Yet, as we all know, Social Security, in the midst of that recession, never missed a payment, not a spousal or a dependent payment, not a disability payment, and not a pension payment.

And now it is Nancy Pelosi as well. Along with President Biden and Democrats--and frankly, a number of Republicans--who know in their hearts and know because when they give that mirror test and go home and look at their family members, in the midst of this pandemic, in the midst of this inflation, the most successful and the most efficiently run governmental program that we have should be embraced by everyone to give the access and relief that our seniors need, that our disabled veterans need, that our children continue to need.

President Eisenhower and President Nixon, the last President under whom we expanded Social Security benefits, that was in 1971, and a gallon of milk cost 72 cents--what seniors have endured. And like most, like my mother, would turn to their children and say: Don't worry about me. I don't want to be a burden.

My mother--all mothers--were never a burden. They were an inspiration to us all. And we all owe it to them to make sure that they live out their lives in the simple dignity of knowing they can't retire into poverty. That is the promise of Social Security. It hasn't kept pace. How could it if it hasn't been expanded in 51 years.

Now its solvency is in question and this bill expands its solvency. And, most importantly, it expands the benefits that are so vitally needed--especially, as Mr. Pascrell pointed out--to teachers, firefighters, police officers, and municipal employees, who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves on the short end of Congress' inaction. It is the fierce urgency of now.

When you go home and when you travel to a senior center, ask your constituents--and face them eyeball to eyeball and say: How can I help you?

They will respond: By fixing Social Security. By giving us a COLA that actually reflects the costs that we incur, that don't tax us while we still work because we have to make ends meet, to make sure that we are expanding benefits across the board for everyone--because it is everyone's program--and make sure that the wealthy pay their fair share.

That is what President Biden has called for. That is why it is a sacred trust. That is why we are proud to put this before us and say we are here to expand Social Security, not end this. Please, I beg of my colleagues on the other side, join us in expanding benefits that you know need to be expanded on behalf of the citizens you represent.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, the COVID virus has impacted our senior citizens more severely than any other population. With over 1 million deaths now in the country, more than 750,000 of them are people over the age of 65.

This global pandemic has also brought with it inflation, as well, and people on fixed incomes are the people who are most hurt by inflation.

Madam Speaker, those are our fellow senior citizens who are struggling now in this pandemic. Martin Luther King used to say that it is important to always recognize the fierce urgency of now. The fierce urgency for the 65 million Americans on Social Security is that we do something now.

It has been more than 51 years since Congress enhanced Social Security benefits. This is not something the President can do by executive order, although I commend President Biden for his straightforward support of Social Security, calling it a sacred trust with the American people. Indeed, it is.

Now, in the midst of this pandemic and in the midst of what has transpired with regard to inflation, our senior citizens need direct relief from Congress. Congress is the only body that can provide it.

The good news is that President Biden and the House of Representatives have a bill to do just that, a bill that will enhance benefits that haven't been taken up in more than 51 years. People will see an across-the-board increase in their Social Security. People who were paying taxes on Social Security will no longer be paying those taxes. People who have gotten a COLA some years and other years not will now get a COLA based on their actual expenses. There will be no more waiting period for disability victims.

There will also be the repeal of WEP and GPO, as the President of the United States has called for, making sure that firefighters, policemen, and teachers all across this country will now be able, as will their spouses, to receive the benefits that they richly deserve.

These are consequential times that we live in, Madam Speaker, and the spotlight is upon us as we approach the summer recess.

There are plans as to how to deal with Social Security, and they are pretty straightforward. The Republicans have put forward three plans. Rick Scott from Florida calls for ending Social Security in 5 years. The Republican Study Group has more than 20 specific cuts and a 21 percent across-the-board cut to Social Security by raising the age of Social Security recipients. For every year you raise the age, it is a 7 percent cut. There is no logic to the fact that people are living longer so they should receive less.

Madam Speaker, you know that, in 1971, the last time Congress expanded Social Security benefits, Richard Nixon was President of the United States and a gallon of milk cost 72 cents. There has not been an improvement and enhancement to Social Security since 1971. It is our responsibility as a Congress to do so.

The Republicans have a plan. God bless his soul, Sam Johnson, who I admired, a Vietnam war hero, a person who had incredible integrity, put forward a plan. His plan called for cuts in order to make Social Security solvent.

The Democratic plan says, no, it is time to enhance Social Security. More than 5 million people live in poverty and receive a below-poverty- level check from their government. It is time for us to act.

Mr. Speaker, this global pandemic has impacted every nation in the world. But here in America, as we have seen, with just over a million people who have passed, 750,000 of them are over the age of 65.

Those seniors are also the people hurt hardest by inflation, as are all the individuals who are on a fixed income. Democrats have a plan. We have a plan to address all of Americans' rising expenses that they are experiencing. We have a plan to address them today, tomorrow, and into the future. It is called Social Security.

Social Security is the Nation's number one antipoverty program for the elderly and the number one antipoverty

program for children. And yet, Congress has not taken any action to expand benefits in more than 50 years. Democrats have a plan to expand benefits today, tomorrow, and forever.

The Republicans have a plan also. Their plan is to end Social Security in 5 years. It is time for us to have this debate in front of the American public, not behind closed doors and let people know where their Member stands.

Mr. Speaker, I refer you to this poster behind me. This poster demonstrates that Democrats have a plan to increase Social Security benefits. Republicans have a plan to cut benefits 20 percent across the aboard.

Democrats have a plan that will ensure that Americans are able to keep pace with inflation and rising costs. The last time Congress did anything with Social Security, a gallon of milk was 71 cents. We all know what the cost of living is today, but inaction is inexcusable.

The Republicans call for 20 separate benefit cuts to Social Security, and most importantly, say we are going to get there by raising the age. For every year you raise the age, that is a 7 percent cut in people's benefits. The idea that people would say, Well, people are living longer so we have to raise their age--imagine that. So you are living longer; the Republicans want you to live on less or work until you die.

The time of reckoning is upon us. President Biden has called Social Security a sacred trust. As you heard Mr. Ruiz say before, the concept of making sure that WEP and GPO is repealed so that teachers and firefighters and policemen can get the benefits they deserve, and also to make sure that nobody who works all their life and pays into a system. These are not entitlements, as they say in their book and in their Republican study plan. These are the benefits that people have paid for out of their pockets; working people, of all races, colors, and creed in this Nation who deserve that sacred trust, that promise that the American people know is theirs in the sacred trust that Social Security represents.

The Republicans have a plan to end Social Security in 5 years. How about you join us and expand Social Security benefits for people who need them in the midst of this pandemic, in the face of what is happening to our seniors.

The time to act is now. We don't need a double-secret probation study like they are advocating in the Senate. We need to do this out in public, with the people, demonstrating what we stand for.

Democrats stand for enhancing benefits and improving the quality of life of our seniors. You stand for cutting their benefits and ending Social Security in 5 years.

Mr. Speaker, we will have a Special Order on this topic later today.

Madam Speaker, it is an honor to be here this evening with you and to talk about--during this time of the COVID pandemic--something that is near and dear to the hearts of the people impacted the most by this pandemic.

Madam Speaker, as you know, more than a million people now have perished because of the COVID pandemic, and 750,000 of them are American citizens over the age of 65. In addition, because of the war in Ukraine, because of this pandemic, and because of this inflation, who is the group in America that is most impacted by the pandemic and the ensuing inflation? It is the senior citizens of our country, and it is people over the age of 65. They are people who are on fixed income.

These individuals need the help of the United States Congress. I commend Chairman Rich Neal, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and a Social Security recipient himself, who knows and understands the necessity and the absolute dependence that so many of our fellow Americans have on the Nation's number one insurance program.

The insurance program that keeps our seniors off of poverty. It also happens to be the number one insurance plan for children. Madam Speaker, it is the number one plan for veterans who rely more on Social Security Disability than they do the VA.

For more than half of our fellow citizens who are on Social Security, it is the only benefit that they have. That benefit, on average, is $16,000 per individual. Nobody gets wealthy on Social Security. Yet, it is our number one anti-poverty program for the elderly. It is the number one anti-poverty program for children. It has incredible benefits for people on disability, like our veterans.

Yet, here today, and just last Thursday, and before that, we learn of new plans from the Republican Study Committee and from Senator Scott-- these are plans that will end Social Security. These are plans that say in 5 years these benefits will disappear.

The Ways and Means Committee has a bill to say: No, this is not the time to end Social Security, this is the time to enhance the benefits in Social Security. This is the time when our fellow seniors, who need this money to sustain themselves at base levels, are crying out for help from their country.

This is not the time, Senator Scott, for us to kill Social Security. It is not the time, I say to the Republican Study Committee, for us to end Social Security, cutting its benefits. For every year you call upon someone to raise the age of Social Security, that is a 7 percent cut.

How in God's name, in the face of this pandemic and with people living longer, do they need lesser benefits?

Madam Speaker, if you listen to the logic that people are living longer so we have to hike the age, how does that possibly benefit someone struggling to make ends meet? Those are the same people who are putting food back on the shelves or can't afford their prescription drugs.

How does that allow them to subsist by cutting their benefits because they are living longer?

Democrats have a plan, and basically that is what Congress should be all about: the vitality of ideas and placing those ideas side by each.

While the Republican Study Committee has said that, yes, they have a plan, it is former Congressman Sam Johnson's plan to make sure that Social Security is solvent. I served with Sam Johnson. There is no more honorable person who served in this body. His bill was never allowed to be brought forward by the Republican leadership. There was never a vote on that. The reason there was never a vote on it was because it cut benefits. It made Social Security solvent by cutting benefits. That is not the way to fix Social Security.

Social Security does not need to be cut. The benefits need to be enhanced.

More than 3 million of our fellow Americans receive below-poverty- level checks from Social Security after they have paid into Social Security for a lifetime, Madam Speaker. That is flat-out wrong.

The COLA for Social Security has been so ineffective that it is long overdue to have a change that embraces a COLA based on the actual expenses that seniors incur, whether that is heating and cooling their home or paying for home heating oil or just simply paying for their pharmaceuticals. It is long overdue that Congress enhances the benefits of Social Security so that people can subsist and survive.

Nobody is getting wealthy on Social Security or reserving a condo in Florida with the money they receive from this. These are people who are struggling to make ends meet.

Congressman Neal's committee on social equity most recently pointed out, as well, that the equity and the difference between what people of color and specifically women of color receive in terms of benefits is appalling. They receive below-poverty-level checks after contributing to the program their entire life.

Poverty level is $12,600.

How would you subsist on less than that, Madam Speaker?

Americans need to rise up. They need to understand that what we need now during this pandemic and during this time of inflation is to assist people so that they get the money that they need to make the payments they richly deserve.

That is why the proposal before the Ways and Means Committee enhances benefits. It provides a 2 percent across-the-board increase. It makes sure that nobody can retire into poverty, and it makes the new floor for Social Security 125 percent of what the poverty level is. It makes sure that a new COLA is instituted, and, yes, it also makes sure, as President Biden has called for, the repeal of WEP and GPO.

Where is the Republican plan?

Their committee says that they are following Sam Johnson, and yet the subcommittee has never received a bill in the last 4 years that would indicate what their plan of action is--though it is detailed here, as Mr. Scott has outlined, to end Social Security in 5 years. Ending Social Security--killing Social Security--is not any way to help out those citizens--those fellow Americans--who need this assistance the most.

It is long overdue in this Chamber and also in the Senate. And even though Mitch McConnell may stand up and deny that they are going to take forward Senator Scott's proposal, he very smugly says when asked what his agenda is that they don't have an agenda. They will tell the American voters what their agenda is after they win.

America can take it to the bank, Madam Speaker: just like they did under the Biden administration, they are coming for your Social Security and Medicare. They outline it in no uncertain terms, both in Senator Scott's proposal and also in the Republican Study Group's proposal as well.

They are coming after your Social Security at a time when Americans need it most.

There is a difference. Democrats are here to recognize that it has been 51 years since Congress has enhanced Social Security. It has been 51 years since Congress has done anything to enhance the number one insurance program for our elderly and the number one insurance plan for our children.

It also is the Nation's most effective program. I hail from a part of the country that is an insurance center, and

there they know what a 99 percent loss ratio means. What that means is that Social Security has been able to operate, function, and be the most efficient governmental agency because it does so with less than 1 percent administrative costs to make sure that Americans receive the benefits that they need.

The truth of the matter is that the Social Security Administration needs more funding so that they can become more efficient because this pandemic has also hit both governmental employees as well as it has our citizens and has made servicing more challenging, which is all the more reason for government not to be talking about cutting Social Security, as our Republican colleagues are, but enhancing Social Security so that both administratively and individually people are getting the services that they need and that they richly deserve. It has been 51 years since Congress has taken any positive action to enhance people's benefits.

Madam Speaker, a gallon of milk cost 72 cents in 1971. Look at the cost today. Look at the burden that people on fixed incomes have.

Help is on the way. The Ways and Means Committee will mark up and send to the floor Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust. A sacred trust is what President Biden labeled Social Security because the American people understand this.

How do they know?

It is simple. We don't have to go back to 1935 and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We only have to go back to 2008 and 2009, during the Great Recession, when people saw their 401(k) become a 101(k). Yet during that same time period, Social Security never missed a payment--not a pension payment, not a spousal payment, not a dependent child payment, and not a disability payment.

It is America's number one insurance program. It is America's most efficient and effective program, and it needs to be enhanced. It needs to be augmented with benefits that haven't been adjusted in 51 years.

During this same time period--and we could go back, as Chairman Neal often talks about, to the S&L crisis. What happened during that?

People at the bottom lost everything. People at the top managed to protect their benefits and pensions. And the same was true in 2008 and 2009. People who endured that recession saw their 401(k)s become a 101(k)s. People at the top kept their pensions and benefits.

Thank God for Social Security. Americans understand this, and that is why they overwhelmingly--Democrats, Republicans, and Independents-- support enhancing these benefits.

Madam Speaker, how can you go home to your district in this pandemic during this time and say to your brothers, your sisters, your mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles, the people you work with, the people in your community whom you go to church with, that no, this is the time to cut benefits?

This is the time we should end Social Security in 5 years?

This is the time we should raise the age so that you can't receive benefits?

How about we do something simple? How about we vote to enhance Social Security? The simple thing is to vote.

If you agree with Senator Scott's proposal to end Social Security, then by all means vote for it. Put it out there. Let's contrast the programs: the Democratic initiative to enhance Social Security and the Republican position to cut the benefits.

It would be great to have people join together, as we often do here, and come up with a solution; but instead, we have been waiting for 4 years now on the Social Security Subcommittee and haven't received a single piece of legislation that would address this, that outlines these bills, and that says exactly what they would do to enhance Social Security.

Instead, as has been reported in the news, what these proposals do is end Social Security or cut Social Security. That is death by 1,000 slashes.

Whom are they hurting?

Whom are they slashing here?

Our fellow American citizens.

So if we want to come together, we are open. We have accepted many good ideas that have come forward with regard to enhancing Social Security.

Congress hasn't done its responsibility. There is nothing the President can do through executive authority and nothing the Supreme Court is going to act on.

This requires congressional action. The American people are watching, and either these bodies, the House and Senate, are going to take action or they are going to doom people to Senator Scott's proposal to end Social Security in 5 years.

The Republican Study Committee said this is immoral, that Social Security, if nothing was done, would be cut by 24 percent in 2034. They propose raising the age and cutting people's benefits in order to make Social Security solvent.

That is not the way to make the system solvent, on the backs of American people who are already overburdened and suffering.

In this time of inflation, let us make sure that we are sending the relief to the people who need it the most, people who have worked all their lives, paid into a system, and understand that this is an earned benefit.

Rise up, America. Let your elected representatives in the Senate and House know that help is on the way, and either you are for enhancing benefits to deal with inflation during this pandemic or you are for cutting them. Let your message ring loud and clear to elected officials who are about to vote on this very important agenda.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, in honor of the life of Paul Joseph Ianni, I include in the Record the following letter written by his former platoon leader during the Vietnam war, Brice H. Barnes.

To the Family and Friends of Sgt Paul Ianni: It has been

brought to my attention by a fellow Veteran, Mr. Russ

Vibberts, that our mutual friend, Mr. Paul Ianni, has

transitioned from this world and now rests in the Mighty Arms

of our Savior. In 1967, I had the distinct honor of being

Paul's Platoon Leader in Vietnam, and knew him as a gentleman

and professional soldier. Paul was highly instrumental in our

successful exploitation of the largest ammunition and weapons

cache ever discovered in the entire Vietnam War, as a

volunteer that explored the vast underground tunnel and

storage complex. His reports to me were accurate and

thorough, enabling us to successfully complete the mission as

assigned. For his actions, I nominated Paul for the Bronze

Star

Medal for meritorious service. Later in his tour of duty,

Paul participated in another significant battle during the

Tet Counter-offensive in Vietnam. At the risk of personal

injury or death, Paul delivered highly effective fire upon

several enemy positions, thereby enabling his platoon to

advance and occupy security positions that guarded a vital

road intersection. It is without doubt that Paul's actions

saved the lives of many of his fellow platoon members. As a

result of his actions, Paul was awarded the Silver Star, our

Nation's third highest award for valor and bravery in combat

operations. One of his other awards was the Combat

Infantryman's Badge, the most prestigious award ever to be

bestowed upon an Infantryman.

On some rare occasions, I was able to telephonically visit

with Paul, and always thanked him for his service, and for

making me a better leader of other Warriors. Although news of

his passing has brought me some personal sadness, I am

rejoicing that he is now free of the prejudices and pain that

he experienced, and will enjoy the peace and freedom that he

so richly deserved.

Brice H. Barnes,

Colonel (Ret) U.S. Army, Honorary Colonel, 47th Infantry

Regiment.

Madam Speaker, I am here this morning to talk about Social Security.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record two articles: The first is entitled, ``It's time for U.S. Congress to debate Social Security reform in the light of day'' by The New York Times reporter Mark Miller.

The second is ``The Early Impact of COVID-19 on Job Losses among Black Women in the United States'' submitted by Michelle Holder.

It's Time For U.S. Congress to Debate Social Security Reform in the

Light of Day

(By Mark Miller, May 5, 2022)

(Reuters).--Social Security has never failed to make its

benefit payments since the mailing of monthly checks began in

1940, but most Americans these days are worried about the

future of the program.

Who can blame them? Social Security's two trust funds are

projected to run dry in 2034, and the program would be able

to pay only 80 percent of its obligations to retirees and

disabled workers at that point. Politicians don't exactly

generate confidence when they make irresponsible--and wrong--

comments claiming that Social Security is going bankrupt or

running out of money.

The result is public skepticism and concern. Forty-two

percent of working Americans tell Pew Research Center

pollsters that they doubt they will receive any benefits from

Social Security. An equal share thinks they will receive a

benefit, but at a reduced level.

The Social Security trustees have been projecting this

shortfall since the early 1990s, but the U.S. Congress has

failed to act. What we need is a full, public debate on

reform legislation--and an actual vote by lawmakers. The

window is open for that to happen this year--the Democratic

Party has developed an internal consensus on legislation that

addresses the solvency problem, and also expands benefits

modestly. It controls both legislative chambers--at least for

now. The Social Security 2100 Act is supported by 202 House

Democrats--in other words, nearly the entire party caucus.

The bill probably cannot jump the hurdle of a Republican

filibuster in the U.S. Senate, but it is imperative to get

everyone in Congress on the record with a vote on this issue.

``People have got to know where you stand,'' said U.S.

Representative John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat and chief

sponsor of the legislation.

Madam Speaker, I think as Martin Luther King would say, it is the ``fierce urgency of now'' that we are dealing with, and by that I mean the fierce urgency being the pandemic that this country is currently going through.

That pandemic has taken more than 740,000 Americans over the age of 65. That same group over the age of 65 is the group that is hurt most by inflation. Why? Because they are on fixed incomes. They are Social Security recipients. And they need our help now.

The good news, thanks to the efforts of Chairman Neal and the Ways and Means Committee, we have established a Racial Equity Task Force. The gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), and the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez) have all put together extensive reporting that talks about the inequality that exists in what our colleague John Lewis said was the next civil rights movement, and that is to make sure we uplift everybody in this country who has worked all their lives, paid into a system, and receives below- poverty-level checks from their government.

That is about to end with the passage of Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust, called the sacred trust by President Biden because it is. We no longer have to go back to the Great Depression to talk about the impact of Social Security and why it came into prominence. You only have to go back as far as 2008-2009 to understand that during that recession, people saw their 401(k) become a 101(k).

During that same time period, Social Security never missed a payment, not a spousal, not a dependent coverage payment, not a pension payment, and not a disability payment.

With Memorial Day approaching, it was good listening to the Members come and talk about honoring our veterans on Memorial Day. Several came down this week honoring National Police Week as well, talking about police officers who need help. Millions of police officers and their spouses across this country, because of WEP and GPO, are penalized and don't receive the Social Security benefits that they richly deserve. President Biden has put an end to that.

Richard Neal has also introduced legislation as well with respect to that. So has Mr. Davis and Mr. Brady on the Republican side. It is long overdue. If you want to help police officers, if you want to help our veterans, so many of whom rely more on Social Security Disability than they do on the VA, we need to reform Social Security. Congress has not enhanced Social Security in more than 51 years. A gallon of milk in 1971 cost 72 cents. Look at the cost now, not only of milk but of bread and butter and gas and rent, and understand the absolute necessity to help out the people who during this pandemic need it the most.

Congress can no longer kick the can down the road. This is our responsibility on our watch; and on Memorial Day, every citizen in this country ought to be asking Congress what it is going to do. What do we have to do? A very simple thing that we take an oath of office and raise our hands and pledge allegiance to the Constitution, and that is vote. Vote on an issue that will help the people of this great Nation out: People who have been neglected, more than 3 million who have paid in all their lives and get below-poverty-level checks; millennials and Gen Xers, who are going to need Social Security even more than the 10,000 baby boomers a day who become eligible for Social Security. The time to act is now.

Let's heed the words of Martin Luther King and understand the ``fierce urgency of now'' so that people won't have to put food back on the shelves that they can't afford or be turned

back from the drugs that they need to purchase and that they have a quality of life that they richly deserve in the wealthiest nation in the world.

We can pay for this all by just simply raising the cap on people over $400,000. Those wealthy people can afford to pay the same level that people making $50,000. It is long overdue. The time to act is now.

Madam Speaker, I am here this morning to talk about Social Security. I start with commending Chairman Neal of the Ways and Means Committee, and especially for his formation of the Racial Equity Committee that was headed up by one of the previous speakers, Terri Sewell, and Steven Horsford, and Jimmy Gomez.

Our great colleague, John Lewis, said that Social Security would be the next civil rights movement. John had probably no idea about what the pandemic would bring. What the pandemic has done has underscored the plight and the need of all of our fellow Americans.

What I mean by that is this: This pandemic has hit the country hard. It is turning everybody's lives upside down. There are close to a million people in our country that have perished during this pandemic because of COVID-19; but 740,000 plus are over the age of 65.

In that same group over the age of 65 are, of course, the recipients of Social Security. Those recipients also are the people who are on a fixed income. People on a fixed income are hurt the hardest by the inflationary times that we are in.

That is why we have proposed Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust, that is currently in the process of being marked up in the Ways and Means Committee. It is being marked up so that we can address what Martin Luther King best described as the fierce urgency of now.

What is that fierce urgency? For every Member of this body to go home and look at your brothers and sisters, their coworkers, the people you go to church and worship with, and understand that it has been more than 50 years since Congress enhanced any benefit in Social Security.

A gallon of milk was 71 cents back in 1971. Look at the cost of milk. Look at the cost of gas. Look at the cost of heating and cooling your home. Look at the cost of groceries and prescription drugs.

And for Congress to be negligent and not address this issue--this is not something, Madam Speaker, that can be done through executive order, nor is the Supreme Court going to adjudicate. This is the direct responsibility of the United States Congress, and the last time it did something was in 1983. Ronald Reagan was the President. Bob Dole was the Senate leader, and Tip O'Neill, the Speaker. They made the program more solvent then, but they did it by cutting benefits; the last of which just went into effect this January, with raising the age to 67.

Now, it sounds good when you say, well, people are living longer so we have got to raise the age. But consider the logic: If you are living longer, how is it that you can sustain a cut in Social Security?

It hasn't been enhanced in more than 51 years. It is Congress' responsibility. Ten thousand baby boomers a day become eligible for Social Security. It affects our rural communities more than it affects our urban communities. And in doing so, who has it impacted? Close to 5 million of our fellow Americans who get below-poverty-level checks from the Federal Government at a time we are passing out tax cuts to the wealthiest 1 percent in this country.

If, indeed, Black lives matter and is more than just a slogan, we will be voting on this issue on this floor to send a message to the more than 65 million Social Security recipients that help is on the way. No one will ever work all their lives and then retire into poverty because we are going to create a new floor that will be 125 percent of what the poverty level is.

Madam Speaker, I urge the body to take a look at Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust. This is bipartisan. If you look at the data, 80 percent of Democrats, 75 percent of Independents, 69 percent of Republicans agree that these benefits need to be enhanced. It is a commonsense, practical way in this pandemic to both deal with inflation and give long-overdue relief to our senior citizens.

Social Security is the number one anti-poverty program for the elderly. It is the number one anti-poverty program for children. Our veterans utilize Social Security disability more than the VA.

It is long overdue for this body to do one simple requirement that we all take an oath of office for, and that is to vote, and vote on increasing and enhancing Social Security and its benefits, something that hasn't been done in this body for more than 50 years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about Social Security and its importance to the American people.

Mr. Speaker, everybody is alarmed by the fact that we have been dealing with a global pandemic. That global pandemic, commonly referred to as COVID, has taken close to a million lives in the United States of America. Over 700,000 of those lives are individuals over the age of 65.

The COVID pandemic has also turned the economy upside down and has led to a period of inflation. And during that period, the group that is impacted the most as well are seniors in America. It is people that are on fixed incomes that need our help directly.

There are more than 10,000 baby boomers a day who become eligible for Social Security. And for about 40 percent of senior beneficiaries, Social Security provides the majority of their income. And for one in six Americans, it provides more than 90 percent of their income. And yet, shamefully, the United States Congress has not taken action on this in more than 50 years.

Today, and every day, you can hear Members come to the floor and talk about their concern for our constituents; most notably, the elderly and even more poignantly, the veterans. More veterans rely on Social Security disability than they do on the VA. And yet, Congress has not addressed this issue in more than 50 years. The last time Congress addressed this issue, milk was 72 cents a gallon. Everybody knows that those prices have become so high today that it causes seniors to have to put food back on the grocery shelves because they can't afford it. This is especially true for people of color.

Mr. Speaker, I commend our former leader, John Lewis, who pointed out and said that Social Security is the next Civil Rights Movement because of the discrimination that is taking place within Social Security. And because also, people have come to rely on it because it is a guarantee.

We don't have to go back to 1929 and the great crash. We only have to go back as far as 2008 and 2009 to look at what happened in that recession and find out that people's 401(k) became a 101(k). And yet, during that same time period, Social Security never missed a payment-- not a pension payment, not a spousal payment, not a dependent coverage payment, and not a disability payment.

This is not something the President can do by executive order, nor is it anything that the Supreme Court is going to adjudicate. This is the responsibility of the United States Congress, and help is on the way. People are going to have an opportunity to vote on Social Security 2100, bringing Social Security into this century and then also rectifying the discrimination that has taken place.

Recent polls show this: That 64 percent of Black adults say securing Social Security should be the top priority for the President and Congress to address this year. Martin Luther King had a better way of saying it. He called it the ``fierce urgency of now.''

In the midst of this pandemic, remember this, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle: These are your brothers and sisters. These are your parents. These are your aunts and uncles. These are your co-workers. These are people you worship with.

Over 5 million Americans get below-poverty level checks from Social Security. Why? Because Congress hasn't taken on its responsibility and stepped up to the plate and done what is expected of them.

I commend Jim Clyburn, our leader here, who has come out strongly in favor of making sure that we address this inequality.

Mr. Speaker, what a great honor for me to be here today and pay tribute to the fighting Hornets of East Hartford High. The girls' team has won the State championship in the State of Connecticut for the first time in the school's history.

Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago, Maureen Rodgers ushered in modern-day girls' basketball at then-Penney High School. The crown today is that these young women demonstrated that vision and brought home the State championship to East Hartford, Connecticut.

Mr. Speaker, clearly, the COVID pandemic has struck America extraordinarily hard. Nearly a million Americans have died from COVID-19, but it has been especially hurtful to our elderly. More than 720,000 of the people who have perished were over the age of 65.

This underscores all the more reason why the United States Congress needs to fix Social Security. Congress has not addressed the issue of extending Social Security for more than 50 years. It is long overdue that the United States Congress live up to its responsibility and make sure it enhances the benefits.

A gallon of milk cost 72 cents in 1971. You-all know what it costs today, as well as the price of gas, prescription drugs, and the cost of rent, et cetera. Yet, Social Security has not been enhanced in more than 50 years.

Mr. Speaker, this is exactly why the United States Congress needs to act. I am proud of the proposal of President Biden and the fact that Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust will be brought to the floor.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Neal and Leader Brady--what an outstanding example of bipartisan cooperation. But especially as it relates to what has amounted to a financial retirement crisis, this clearly will help aid in the work that has already been done by Chairman Neal with regard to both the SECURES Act and the Butch Lewis Act, but this even adds more flexibility and also provides an automatic opportunity for people to put money forward.

I went to the Aetna School of Insurance and they said there are three legs on this table: personal savings, pension, and Social Security. This helps address the pension issue as no one can. Again, I want to commend Mr. Neal and Mr. Brady for their efforts, and point out that we have another leg on that stool that is called Social Security that Congress hasn't addressed in more than 50 years. I commend the chairman as we go through the process of markup on that as well.

Madam Speaker, Martin Luther King famously said in a speech in Memphis that there is always a need to act, but especially, as he noted there at the time, with the fierce urgency of now.

The fierce urgency of now, as it relates to Social Security, has been underscored by a global pandemic, a global pandemic that has hit the world and our country especially hard.

More than 940,000 Americans have lost their lives. Of those who have perished, over 700,000 of them are over age 65. I bring this to the attention of the body because COVID has specifically underscored a problem that existed amongst our elderly before the outbreak of this international pandemic. Over 700,000 over the age of 65 have died. This is the same group that is worse hit by the effects of inflation.

As you know, Madam Speaker, everybody who is on a fixed income and has to marshal their resources understands how inflation can be crippling. All the more reason that we need to provide relief, and relief is on the way. Relief is on the way with the Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust Act, currently in the process of being marked up in the Ways and Means Committee.

Our seniors need our help now, as they struggle both with COVID and as they struggle being on a fixed income.

The last time that the United States Congress did anything to enhance Social Security was more than 51 years ago. Richard Nixon was the President of the United States, and the cost of a gallon of milk was 72 cents.

A lot has transpired since then, but what hasn't taken place is Congress and its responsibility to make sure that Social Security keeps pace with the changes that are needed. The last time Congress did anything substantial with Social Security was 39 years ago, in 1983. It increased the solvency, but it did so by cutting benefits and taxing the elderly.

Social Security 2100 seeks to enhance benefits, that hasn't been done in more than 50 years, and eliminate a burdensome tax on people who have to work after they have retired in order to make ends meet.

I want to especially commend the Congressional Black Caucus and Mr. Clyburn for their efforts in this area, underscoring, again, and knowing what happens to people of color.

As Mr. Clyburn so eloquently says: Not only is it people of color, but people in rural America. All across the South and all across this country, rural Americans are forced to live on fixed incomes that haven't been adjusted in more than 50 years. In the midst of COVID and this inflation, they are the ones who are hurt the most.

Congress can no longer afford to kick the can down the road and, once again, not address the preeminent program that prevents the elderly from living in poverty and the preeminent program that prevents children from living in poverty. It is time for Congress to act. It is our responsibility to do so.

As the chair of the Subcommittee on Social Security on the Ways and Means Committee, I am proud that Chairman Neal and our membership are moving this legislation forward and onto the floor. It wouldn't happen without the best efforts put forward by Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and I commend Joyce Beatty for her efforts as well.

Madam Speaker, we all anticipate and await the presentation from an international hero. Hearing from President Zelensky tomorrow is exactly what this Congress and what the Nation needs to hear. I believe that we will come out united. Certainly, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine and the bravery of President Zelensky.

Madam Speaker, I am here to also talk about another urgency here at home. The fierce urgency of now, as Martin Luther King said, would apply to seniors all across our country. We are all painfully aware of the results of the pandemic with more than 900,000 Americans having perished and over 660,000 of them over the age of 65.

Madam Speaker, you know firsthand as well because you led Chairman Neal's racial equity initiative that also underscored this very group of people--seniors and especially people of color--who have been impacted the most.

As John Lewis said: This is the next major civil rights issue. And if Black Lives Matter and is more than just a slogan, it is long overdue for the Congress of the United States to take action.

I commend you, Madam Speaker, for your efforts in making sure that we

bring to the American public's attention this inequity that exists. Imagine more than 5 million Americans in the wealthiest nation on the face of the Earth living in poverty, millions of whom have paid all their lives into a Social Security system that gives them a below poverty-level check.

The last time Congress did anything to enhance Social Security was in 1971. Richard Nixon was the President, and a gallon of milk cost 72 cents.

A lot has transpired since then, especially as it relates to our seniors. The people who are impacted the most, along with COVID, are the people who are on fixed incomes. They are impacted by inflation as well. That is why it is so vitally important, with more than 10,000 baby boomers a day becoming eligible for Social Security, that Congress finally acts.

Help is on the way. Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust will do just that and make sure that it provides across-the-board relief and makes sure that no one can retire into poverty and raises the new floor for those who are in desperate need now. We can no longer afford to kick the can down the road. The pandemic has only further underscored the problem that our seniors face.

Madam Speaker, as you know, it is not just our seniors. When we look at veterans, more veterans rely on Social Security disability than they do on the VA. When we look at spousal and dependent coverage and the need for children to stay on their policies and be able to be eligible as Social Security recipients, how we have treated widows and widowers, all needs to be addressed.

Who is impacted the most by this? Women. And specifically women of color that are most in need, because of the jobs they held in society and because they were primarily caregivers and spent more time at home. It is they who are living longer and also need assistance from the United States Congress.

It is long overdue for us to act. It has been more than 50 years since Congress has done anything. This is not something the President can do with an executive order or that is going to be adjudicated by the courts. This can only happen if Congress takes action.

I am proud of the efforts of Chairman Neal and the Ways and Means Committee as we move toward a markup of Social Security and to bring this to the floor and then to vote on it in the Senate.

Madam Speaker, I am here to commend Chairman Neal and the Racial Equity Initiative headed by Terri Sewell, Steve Horsford, and Jimmy Gomez, and also to recognize Joyce Beatty, for the work that they have done in bringing forward the inequity that has existed in this country for far too long.

More than 5 million of our fellow Americans get below poverty-level checks from Social Security because the Congress of the United States has not done anything to enhance Social Security in more than 50 years.

Whom does that affect the most? It affects women of color and women specifically--people who held jobs who weren't earning the same kind of salary or wages and people who were caregivers at home for their children.

Help is on the way. Social Security 2100 is coming to the floor, and finally, millions of Americans who get below poverty-level checks after having worked all their lives and paid into a system are going to get what they richly deserve.

Mr. Speaker, more than 900,000 people in the United States have lost their lives due to COVID. Of those more than 900,000, 660,000 people over age 65 have been lost because of COVID. This is the same population that was not only worried and concerned about COVID, but they are the ones on a fixed income. They are the ones that rely on Social Security.

More than 5 million of our fellow Americans get a below-poverty-level check from Social Security after having paid in all their lives to the number one insurance program in the country, the number one anti- poverty program for the elderly, and the number one anti-poverty program for children. Help is on the way.

Social Security 2100, a sacred trust, as the President called it, is a bill that will uplift and raise people out of the depths of poverty and provide them with the sustenance they need in their daily lives, as Roosevelt intended.