-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CASSIDY. Madam President, Social Security is a sacred trust between the American people and the American government. For the worker who is about to retire with no savings other than Social Security, the woman who relies on Social Security to pay for medications, they need to know that the government is not going to break this sacred trust.

That is why I have been leading a bipartisan group of over a dozen Senators to develop a solution. And we have what we call the Big Idea. But before describing the Big Idea, I have to tell you, right now, it does not matter what big ideas--or any idea--are being discussed. President Biden made it clear in his State of the Union speech that he was going to run for reelection attacking Republicans on the issue of Social Security.

Now, by the way, he has not introduced legislation on Social Security himself. He spoke about one in his previous campaign, but it was not serious. And the money he said he would use for his unserious plan he has already spent on other priorities, or at least proposed to spend. President Biden was not even willing to acknowledge the problem that Social Security faces.

But, in a bipartisan sense, let's be fair; he is not alone. Former President Trump refuses to acknowledge the issue. He never introduced or sought to work with Congress when he was President, and now he criticizes anyone who suggests that Social Security might be going insolvent. But, unfortunately for us all, Social Security is going insolvent.

It is not me who says this; it is the actuaries, those who are told to come before the American people and tell what is the current state of Social Security. They tell us that in 9 years, it is insolvent. At that point, beneficiaries will see a 24-percent cut in the amount they are receiving. There is no grandfathering in. You might be already receiving, but when that deadline hits--2033, 2032--boom, 24-percent cut for those who are currently receiving. Poverty among the elderly doubles.

And even though it is against the law to borrow money to pay the difference between what is coming in and what is going out, let's imagine that we did. If we do decide to break the law and borrow that money, it would end up causing a $562 trillion debt to pay these benefits over the next 75 years. That would give us a debt-to-GDP ratio similar to that of Greece and Venezuela, and that is independent of the money that would be required for Medicare benefits and other such benefits.

So what does our Big Idea do? Our Big Idea avoids this problem by setting up an investment fund separate from Social Security--no Social Security money whatsoever--an investment fund in which we place money and allow it to grow over 75 years; and, in so doing, we address 75 percent of the issue.

We don't raise the retirement age to 70, as people suggest. We don't touch the way Social Security benefits are distributed. We make sure that no one has a disruption in their benefits that they are promised to receive. And in our plan, we have work incentives and we work to address issues of WEP and GPO and poverty among the elderly.

It is an idea that could work and pass Congress, but there has been zero Presidential leadership. And we have had no engagement from this President, and there was no engagement from the previous President.

So a few weeks ago, we decided to take our issue to the people, and we called it Bill on the Hill. Kind of a nice rhyme, huh? I took a walk around the Capitol grounds and spoke to Americans from across the country who were visiting the Nation's capital. There was a couple from Louisiana, a family from Pennsylvania, a veteran who is also a pastor from Massachusetts, and several others who gave their unvarnished opinions on what they want Washington to do about Social Security.

The bottom line: Americans want to see Social Security saved. They-- we--deserve a real solution, not grandstanding. One blue-collar worker I spoke to from rural Pennsylvania told me--I am going to try and imitate his voice:

Jobs that I have had haven't necessarily had retirement plans.

He said it was ``very discouraging'' to hear a 24-percent cut was coming if we do nothing.

There was a doctor from Opelousas. Now, this doctor has as much gray hair as I do, but, if you can imagine, he was once one of my former students. The doctor from Opelousas--Opelousas, LA, for those who don't know about that--he put it in stark terms when I told him that doing nothing means that poverty among his patients would double--among the elderly in general, but he has got a patient population a little bit older. He said the people he knows ``would have to start choosing between their medicines and food.''

Now, these are people who rely on Social Security, who put faith in that sacred trust that they would not have to choose between medicine and food. Yet that is the choice they are going to be forced to if we do nothing.

And then there was Dr. Paul Kim--a pastor, a veteran--who was up here for a convention from Massachusetts. And he told me what he wanted from a President:

He has to be honest and keep the promise [of Social Security].

Dr. Kim is right. The President needs to be honest with the American people about Social Security; but this President is not. He refuses to even acknowledge that the problem exists.

The fact is, as I have already mentioned, Social Security--according to the actuaries, the people we entrust to tell us the state of it--is going insolvent in 9 years. But President Biden is steadfast in his position that there is nothing wrong, there is no need for a serious plan. Oh, yes, he introduced a plan when he was on the campaign trail; has done nothing since. And the money that he would use to pay for this unserious plan he has already proposed to spend on other things.

By the way, $4.5 trillion he has proposed in new taxes and not a dime going to Social Security. And as I mentioned, it isn't just President Biden; it is former President Trump, who did nothing while he was President and, even now, criticizes people who wish to do something. It appears that the Biden-Trump plan is the same plan. It is a plan to do nothing and demagogue those who choose to responsibly address the issue.

When I told one of these folks, the woman from Opelousas, LA, that President Biden and Donald Trump have the same plan, she was going: Whoa, whoa, that is something. But when she heard it was a plan to do nothing, her reaction was:

I want to laugh, and I want to cry at the same time.

Americans are watching as Washington flounders, as the deadline until retirees get a 24 percent cut approaches. By the way, we have seen polling on this. When people understand that the program is going insolvent in 9 years, 75 percent--from the very liberal to the very conservative and every point in between--think that we should address the issue now. That is the American people speaking, but that is not our leading Presidential candidates.

We owe it to the American people to take this sacred trust seriously. We owe it to them to save Social Security before it is too late.

Now, I am open to discussing my big idea, anyone else's idea. You name it. But there has to be a serious conversation. And since it has to be signed into law, a participant must be the President of the United States. We need the political courage from those who aspire to be our Nation's leader to actually show leadership.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source