John Larson

We need to act now to address this.

We cannot overlook the impact, the financial impact, on this very vital program.

We look forward to your plan to do that.

It is my understanding that the Pew Research Center, highly respected, has said that today's real average wage has lower purchasing power, lower purchasing power, than it did 40 years ago.

How would your constituents act to that, Ms. Zapote?

These facts led the National Committee's decision to prioritize retirement equity, supporting legislation that rights the economic wrongs threatening millions of Americans.

We believe that it is essential that proposals to strengthen the adequacy of Social Security benefits for all effectively address the economic inequality disproportionately faced by women and communities of color as well.

It is vitally important that long-term solvency be restored and that the Social Security benefits be improved to meet the needs of all Americans.

Social Security has been and is an enormously successful program that is essential to the retirement security of a vast majority of Americans.

Our solution on this side is Social Security 2100. This would boost benefits and reaches solvency.

There has got to be a need for us to come together as a committee and discuss this issue.

I want to thank Representative Rice yesterday for acknowledging that Chairman Johnson had a plan as well.

So in the end, what we are going to end up having to do is something similar to what they did, and everything is going to have to be on the table, and everything is going to have to be included if we want to actually reach a solution.

And since the last time Social Security was fixed in 1982 or 1983, I think, when Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill got together--and what they did was a mix of tax increases and benefit cuts, basically.

I do think this has been informative.

Talking about ways in which we can ensure that those making over $400,000 a year pay more into the system is a legitimate avenue to explore.

Social Security is the greatest domestic policy achievement of the 20th century.

House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT), announced today that the Subcommittee is beginning a hearing series on 'Protecting and Improving Social Security.'

We are going to have specific hearings on that alone, and as you are probably aware, both Mr. Brady and Mr. Neal have introduced legislation with respect to that.

So I would just say, respectfully and particularly in deference to the Chairman's bill on Social Security 2021, let's look at getting a greater return for our government spending.

These benefits may be modest, but they are vital to the 63 million people who rely on them.

It can be done if we put our minds to it. If we don't, then we are going to have a real catastrophe here.

President Trump, to his credit, has already made that statement.

It was no different than it is today, except Ronald Reagan was adamantly opposed to advancing Social Security.

We do this so all Americans will have the peace of mind knowing they can count on Social Security.