Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, tonight, it is almost 10 o'clock, and tonight we are reminding our entire country that women in our country really do need to know that by raising the debt ceiling, though sounding very technical, that the debt limit provision in this emergency supplemental appropriations bill will harm Social Security. By putting Social Security at risk, we put women at risk. This bill will have a devastating impact on women. There are already enormous disparities in income between men and women. These disparities will be much greater if we endanger Social Security. Women rely on Social Security more heavily for a whole variety of economic and social reasons. Poverty among women over 65 is twice as severe as among men in the same age group. Women earn less than men and tend to live longer. Women also lose an average of 14 years of earnings due to time out of the workforce to raise children or to care for an ailing parent. Women are also generally employed more part-time and have less opportunity to save for retirement. Let me just briefly give some numbers to show how important Social Security is for women. For unmarried women over 65, including widows, Social Security comprises 51 percent of their total income, a far higher proportion than is true for married couples or men. Seventy-four percent of unmarried elderly women depend on Social Security for at least one-half of their income.”