Political Quotes

“I rise today to address the pending issue of Social Security. Madam Speaker, for you and the people in the audience, it might come as a shock that Social Security has not been adjusted in more than 54 years. What do I mean by that? Some would argue that Social Security was adjusted in 1982 under Tip O'Neill, Ronald Reagan, and Bob Dole. Indeed, it was addressed, but Ronald Reagan wanted to privatize Social Security. Bob Dole, a Senate Republican, said no, that this is too important a program. They agreed that what they would do was to keep the program intact, under the assistance of Tip O'Neill, but they raised the age. That sounds like a reasonable compromise until you realize that for every year you raise the age, that is a 7 percent cut in benefits. In essence, back in 1982, there was a 14 percent cut in benefits. Today, we have a comprehensive proposal with regard to Social Security to help everybody across the board, including a 2 percent overall increase in Social Security--again, something that hasn't been done since Richard Nixon was President of the United States. We also want to make sure that no one receives a below-poverty-level check from Social Security. Currently, more than 5 million of our fellow Americans--most, Madam Speaker, you will find interesting, are women--primarily because they were the caregivers and providers at home and, when they were in the workforce, were making less than their male counterparts.”