[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 41 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H1008]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE STATE OF SOCIAL SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about 
America's number one antipoverty program for the elderly and America's 
number one antipoverty program for children. That, of course, is Social 
Security.
  I want to commend President Biden. I commend him for putting forward 
the concept of making sure that Social Security is solvent into the 
next century and making sure that we expand benefits. He did so by 
saying we do something that is very common sense and practical: We lift 
the cap on people making over $400,000.

                              {time}  1045

  Most citizens probably don't realize that there is even a cap on 
Social Security.
  Be that as it may, why is it that all individuals shouldn't have to 
pay into this system?
  We have a poster here. God bless these wealthy individuals who are 
able to achieve great success and make vast sums of money, but why 
should a person making $30,000, $50,000, $75,000, or $100,000 pay 
throughout the year for their Social Security when these wealthy 
individuals will pay about 1 minute into the beginning of the year? 
Just last month was the last time that millionaires would pay anything 
into the system.
  President Biden has said: Let's scrap the cap on people earning over 
$400,000.
  I have had many townhalls where I ask people in the audience to raise 
their hand if they are making over $400,000. So far, I haven't seen a 
single hand go up.
  Yet, they are exempt from participating in what is the Nation's 
number one insurance program for the elderly and also for children.
  By the way, especially in this time of deficit talk, et cetera, it is 
completely paid for. This is a real kitchen-table issue because 10,000 
baby boomers a day become eligible for Social Security, and they are 
sitting there asking: Well, why is it that Social Security hasn't been 
enhanced?
  It is because the only body that can do that is the United States 
Congress, and it hasn't done anything since 1971 to enhance the 
program, Mr. Speaker, and to make sure that people are paying their 
fair share.
  The fair thing to do here is to scrap the cap, which would extend 
solvency of Social Security instead of having a limit. It would also be 
able to provide benefits to people, including a COLA, that actually 
work on behalf of our senior citizens. It would include an across-the-
board increase for everyone on Social Security since it hasn't been 
increased since 1971, and it would make sure that people who are 
currently paying taxes on their Social Security don't have to do so.
  How are we able to do that? By having people pay their fair share, 
people who don't pay, in many instances, a penny into FICA. That is 
flatout wrong for the wealthiest nation in the world that has provided 
the benefits, freedoms, and liberty that has allowed these very 
successful people to succeed in the greatest country in the world.
  It is time for us, Mr. Speaker, to come together and address this for 
all Americans as we seek to close the wealth gap that exists in this 
country.
  For more than 40 percent, Mr. Speaker, of our fellow citizens, Social 
Security is the only benefit that they have. It is the only benefit 
that they have, and for these individuals to be exempt from having to 
pay into that system is absolutely wrong and unjust.
  That is why, again, I commend President Biden for standing up for all 
Americans and saying that we are going to scrap the cap. We are going 
to lift that cap on people making over $400,000. It won't even be 
anything for them to do this.
  What it will do is provide us the opportunity to expand Social 
Security, to make sure that Social Security now goes into effect by 
eliminating WEP and GPO that has wrongly penalized teachers, 
firefighters, police officers, their spouses, and their families from 
receiving the very Social Security benefits they deserve.

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