Schatz To Republicans: Leave Social Security Alone

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke out on the Senate floor against the Trump administration’s cuts to Social Security services which have left seniors and disabled people around the country worried about their ability to get their monthly checks. Schatz spoke during the Senate’s debate on the Republican tax bill which seeks to cut essential services for Americans in order to pay for the biggest tax cuts for billionaires in history.

“Leave Social Security alone,” said Senator Schatz. “Donald Trump wants to gut the most successful anti-poverty program in American history. Over the past three months, his administration has made sweeping cuts to Social Security in ways that are already being felt across the country. Wait times have doubled to as many as 4 or 5 hours. Local field offices are closing. Websites are crashing. And people are understandably panicked about getting checks or missing payments altogether.”

Senator Schatz added, “The idea that we are going to balance the budget on the backs of seniors who have paid into an earned benefit is immoral. It is wrong.”

A transcript of Senator Schatz’s remarks is below. Video is available here.

Leave Social Security alone. Leave Social Security alone. Donald Trump wants to gut the most successful anti-poverty program in American history. Over the past three months, his administration has made sweeping cuts to Social Security in ways that are already being felt across the country. Wait times have doubled to as many as 4 or 5 hours. Local field offices are closing. Websites are crashing. And people are understandably panicked about getting checks or missing payments altogether.

But according to Commerce Secretary Lutnick, there is nothing to worry about. “Let's say Social Security didn't send out their checks this month. My mother-in-law, who's 94, she wouldn't call and complain. She just wouldn't. She would think something got messed up and she'd get it next month. She wouldn't complain.”

Well, when your son in law is a billionaire, a missed check is not a very big deal. But when you're a senior on the island of Oahu, where the average rent far exceeds the average benefit. I want you to understand that the average benefit is about $1,900. The average rent is more than $2,000. 300,000 people in the state of Hawaii depend on Social Security. And for the vast majority of them, Social Security is either all of their income or most of their income.

The idea that we are going to balance the budget on the backs of seniors who have paid into an earned benefit is immoral. It is wrong. And I speak on behalf of all of my constituents who depend on it. It's not just the 300,000. It's all of the family members. I speak on behalf of my mother- and father-in-law, George and Ping Kwok. George Kwok worked all his life in a kitchen. Sometimes he was an employee. He eventually ended up owning a place called Kwok’s Chop Suey. He sold it and bought a home for his mom and helped to send his daughter to college. Then he started to get blind and he burned his hand in a fryer. And so he was unable to work and he took Social Security Disability. He deserves that money. Leave Social Security alone.

Social Security cuts were always the third rail in American politics. Anyone on any side of the aisle with any sense of how to get elected knew not to touch that third rail. But they are grabbing this third rail with both hands.

I want to quote a couple of my constituents. One constituent wrote to me. “We are elderly and we are concerned about the potential of cutting Social Security checks. We paid into the system our entire working lives and fear we can't afford food, water, bills, and medical care. What will happen with these cuts and the cost of living going up? What will be our safety net? We are afraid of what's to come.”

Another wrote, “I worked for 36 years for the federal government, including four years as active duty Air Force in Vietnam. I contributed to Social Security with the explicit understanding that I would get Social Security as a portion of my retirement. Cutting Social Security means I lose about a third of my retirement with no recourse. I am 77 years old with health issues and hadn’t planned on getting another job. My wife was a flight attendant for Hawaiian Airlines for 50 years and also depends on Social Security for her retirement. It is completely unfair when she paid into Social Security for more than 50 years just to be abandoned when she is 70-years-old.”

Another constituent: “I'm a 73-year-old woman who, unlike billionaire Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s mother-in-law, cannot afford to miss or reduce my Social Security payment. It is my sole income and I need it to pay rent and buy food. I worked hard all my life and contributed my fair share of taxes towards Social Security. I'm not asking for a free ride. I earned my Social Security.”

I am not asking for a free ride. I earned my Social Security. Leave Social Security alone.

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