Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, let me compliment the chairman, Mr. Ferguson, and thank him for his incredible work in this area. I also thank Commissioner O'Malley, who doesn't get the credit I believe he richly deserves, especially dealing with less resources and a larger and growing problem. Imagine, if you will, for I think most viewers don't know, that 10,000 baby boomers a day become eligible for Social Security, and it is growing rapidly. I am glad that Republicans support this bill to improve customer service for victims of identity theft, but they must also support giving SSA the resources it needs to implement it. I think that is pretty clear and straightforward. Mr. Speaker, I also believe that, as was pointed out by Mr. Smith and also by Mr. Ferguson, the unfortunate experience people go through is a crime, identity theft, and even more of a crime when you can't get service. Yet, what is really criminal about Social Security is that Congress has not taken on the responsibility of enhancing a program that was last improved when Richard Nixon was President of the United States--53 years. Every single district, every single individual, everyone who is retiring is stuck at the same benefit level they were in 1971. There are 5 million Americans who get below-poverty-level checks because Congress hasn't acted. For over 40 percent of Social Security recipients, which is 28 million people, all they have is Social Security.…”