Larson Opening Statement at Social Security Subcommittee Hearing

(As prepared for delivery)

Good afternoon.  Thank you to Chairman Ferguson for convening this hearing and welcome to our esteemed government witnesses. 

While we are here today to discuss the ongoing issue of Social Security overpayments, let us be clear: Republicans have no plans to fix this issue except to defund and dismantle the Social Security Administration, which will cause even more people to be put in dire financial straits. 

This last year, Republicans have proposed slashing Social Security benefits by an unconscionable $718 billion over 10 years through the budget of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) – their largest caucus. 

How on Earth can you propose to slash funding, then sit here and wonder aloud how clerical problems are allowed to occur?  Have my Republican colleagues never visited an understaffed store or restaurant to discover it in disarray? 

Fund the Social Security Administration fully, get the staff the training they need, and they will serve the American people properly. 

But no, just like the IRS, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle believe in starving federal agencies so Americans lose faith in the systems their tax dollars serve.  

What we need to be doing as a committee is voting on legislation to protect and improve Social Security without getting distracted. 

Nearly 70 million Social Security recipients stand waiting for us to act, with almost 5 million of them receiving a below-poverty-level check despite working for a lifetime. 

It has been more than 50 years since Congress improved benefits for Social Security recipients and 40 years since we moved to improve solvency. 

Stop biding your time, call up a bill and vote. Let the American people see where you stand. 

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