Hartford Reporter

Washington, D.C. - On June 7, House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) spoke about the importance of protecting and expanding Social Security so it serves our nation for years to come at the Ways and Means Committee markup of Social Security, tax, trade, and health legislation. Larson’s bipartisan legislation he introduced with Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Drew Ferguson passed the Ways and Means Committee and is on its way to the House floor for a vote. H.R.3784, the Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act, would require the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide identity theft victims with a single point of contact within SSA.

You can watch Rep. Larson’s remarks here.

“When you have a five-alarm fire going on being fanned by 10,000 Baby Boomers a day becoming eligible for Social Security, we are the committee of cognizance in charge of addressing this crisis. However laudable these bills are, they should be on the consensus calendar, I don’t think there’s a question about that, but that’s not what’s going on for everyday Americans, who have not had Social Security enhanced in 52 years,” said Larson.  

“There is great opportunity here, because not only is Social Security the number one anti-poverty program for our elderly, the number one anti-poverty program for our children, it’s the number one economic development program in all your districts, all of them. Everybody receives money, where do they spend that money? Right back in the district they live in, aiding the local economy. When they receive the check, they spend it at the local pharmacy, the dry cleaners, where they buy their groceries, and heating and cooling their homes. It’s an economic tool that helps the individual and local communities.  

“So, I welcome this opportunity to do what I think are good pieces of legislation but we cannot continue to convene as a committee and not take up comprehensive legislation to expand Social Security. I hope we’ll get an opportunity to have a substantive hearing on the comprehensive approach that’s needed for us to address the issue of Social Security, that’s what’s at stake here,” Larson concluded.

Larson’s Social Security 2100 Act will extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund by asking Americans making more than $400,000 a year to finally pay their fair share, provide an across-the-board benefit increase for all recipients, and repeal the WEP/GPO that penalizes public servants.  

Issues: Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust

Original source can be found here.