Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, in my district, the average per capita income is $32,000 a year. That is six counties from Lincoln County, down the coast of Oregon, to Curry County and the California border.

Over 160,000 seniors in my district rely on Social Security for retirement.

My colleagues across the aisle are approaching Social Security as if it is an unearned handout, and that is beyond offensive. This is not what it was meant to do. This is not what it was meant to be. People have paid into this system for their whole lives. They should be able to get their contributions back. That is the promise of our Social Security program.

Right now, we only tax income up to $160,000 a year to fund Social Security. Millionaires and billionaires who get their income from investments instead of earning a paycheck through hard work are not paying their fair share into Social Security at all, and we must change that system.

By finally requiring that the wealthiest Americans pay into Social Security at the same rate as hardworking nurses and firefighters across this country, we can expand benefits and not cut them.

My bill, the Social Security Expansion Act, which I introduced with Representative Jan Schakowsky and Senator Bernie Sanders, would allow us to increase the Social Security benefits for everyone by $200 a month and help account for the inflation that has impacted many seniors in my district and across this country.

This bill would also extend the solvency of this critical program for the next 75 years.

I am not in Congress to protect billionaires. I am here to make sure those people who have paid into this system for their whole lives, who have worked so hard, including our fishermen, electricians, and schoolteachers can retire with dignity. We can welcome a new generation of the workforce as they retire.

It is our responsibility to make sure that Social Security can be successful into the future, and I am proud to have a bill that helps protect that.

Mr. Chair, my district includes 250 miles of entirely public beaches on a coastline renowned for its pristine and rugged beauty.

Our fishing community relies on clean oceans. It is our responsibility to protect these waters that are vital for our coastal economies and ocean ecosystems.

It is my duty to protect our oceans, the livelihood of the fishing industry on the Oregon coast, and the way of life for the next generation of coastal Oregonians.

The fossil fuel industry has 2,000 leases covering 12 million acres for offshore drilling that are currently not being used. This is just bait and switch by the oil companies who are making record profits while they are price gouging Americans at the gas pump.

Mr. Chair, I strongly support Representative DelBene's amendment to protect Oregon and Washington's coast for future generations.