Xavier Becerra

I think you have made that very clear, Mr. Chairman.

You have to work more, save more, and retire later.

These earned benefits would be taken directly from beneficiaries.

The U.S. Treasury bonds in Social Security's Trust Fund are real, and the trust fund is $2.7 trillion strong.

Social Security is a sacred compact between Americans of all generations. It ensures that billions of retirees, disabled workers, and children can live a life of dignity.

The most immediate dangers to Social Security are the reckless cuts to its operating budget that put at risk its ability to deliver earned benefits on time in the right amount.

Social Security has never once failed to pay earned benefits on time and in full, even through 13 recessions.

American workers, through their tax contributions, through their paychecks, have contributed $13.9 trillion straight out of their pocket into the system.

The Bush recession has hit American families hard. From June 2007 to the beginning of 2009, it stripped Americans of a total of $19.4 trillion in household wealth.

Well, then, if that is a statement, that the money isn't there, it is not that American workers didn't contribute it with their taxes; it means that politicians have been stealing the money and lying----

Let me see if I can dissuade you that the Social Security program is broke.

There are some politicians who say, 'Continue, American worker, to pay those contributions in your taxes, have that deduction made, but while we tell you it is going to be put into a trust fund, we are lying to you, because we are going to…

Social Security is not broke. The trustees report for 2011 shows that Social Security is once again the reliable workhorse in our economy.

Social Security has weathered 13 recessions in the last 75 years, and never once--let me repeat--never once failed to pay, on time and in full, every retiree, widow, child, or disabled worker the benefits they have earned.

you don't have to steal the money out of the Social Security Trust Fund that Americans have contributed to take care of Social Security.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the last thing that we need right now is for our Republican colleagues to play Russian roulette with a recovering economy by threatening to default on America's bills and triggering an…

I was unable to cast my floor vote on rollcall vote 376. Had I been present for the votes, I would have voted ``nay'' for rollcall vote 376.

We can defeat our enemies without surrendering the rights and freedoms that are the foundation of our republic. Our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day to defend the liberties that we hold dear. In light of their…

I thank the ranking member for yielding, and I thank both the ranking member and the chairman for their work on this particular set of amendments that have been put together en bloc. I want to just say that I have an amendment here that I…

I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, to put everything in perspective, we are told by the American Academy of Family Physicians that today, today we can foresee a shortage of some 40,000 primary care…

I think it's important that we not try to undermine programs that have helped a middle class family afford college for their child.

I hope you move aggressively on the issue of getting people who get paid a good chunk of money to help file returns for folks who are getting a very modest return

I think we all want to get to a point where we can get to some place where you all will come to us.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And you obviously need to have more of these hearings, Mr. Chairman. They are stimulating.

Budgets are a reflection of our values and our priorities: jobs, economic growth, fiscal discipline, fairness, shared sacrifice. Most Americans talk about this all the time when they're at their kitchen table. It's not that difficult. So…