On the recordJanuary 21, 2010
Madam President, I have an amendment which I would like to explain. It is very simple. It will protect Social Security from cuts in the fast-track process proposed to be created in the Conrad-Gregg amendment. It is clear from the public statements of Senators Conrad and Gregg, they have painted a big red target on Social Security and Medicare. That is what this commission is all about. It is a big roll of the dice for Social Security and Medicare. Millions of American seniors rely on Social Security. Social Security is a commitment to America's seniors. I might say, if we did not have Social Security, as to estimates I have seen, about half of American seniors today would be living in poverty. Social Security basically has kept a lot of senior Americans from living in poverty. We should, therefore, prevent a fast-track process from reneging on Social Security's commitment to those people and putting a lot of people back in poor economic straits. Numerous groups representing seniors have called for excluding Social Security from this fast-track process.
