Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the Nation's number one antipoverty program for the elderly and the number one antipoverty program for our children. That program, Mr. Speaker, as you know, is Social Security. Mr. Speaker, and for the members in the gallery, I think it is important to understand the statistics that we are dealing with, most importantly, that there are now close to 70 million Americans who rely on Social Security, 40 percent of whom rely on a pension which is the only benefit that they have. It is a testament to the genius of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. What is required in an entrepreneurial capitalist system is that there be a safety net for people. Even more so, imagine that 10,000 baby boomers a day become eligible for Social Security. It is disheartening that Congress, the institution primarily responsible for Social Security's enhancement and protection, has not done anything in 53 years. Richard Nixon was the President of the United States the last time Social Security was enhanced. Five million of our fellow citizens get below poverty-level checks from Social Security, the greatest insurance program in the Nation's history, but Congress has not attended to the program. That is why this is so vitally important that we do so. Mr. Speaker, as you know, in Idaho in the First District there are 219,000-plus Social Security recipients, 170,000-plus who are retirees, and 21,000 who get disability.…”