I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8171 

To nullify certain executive actions to permit the delayed withholding and 

deposit of payroll taxes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself, Mr. NEAL, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. BEYER, Ms. MOORE, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 

PANETTA, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. HIGGINS

of New York, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. EVANS, Mr. KILDEE, 

Ms. DELBENE, Mr. KIND, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. HIMES, 

Mrs. HAYES, and Ms. SEWELL of Alabama) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To nullify certain executive actions to permit the delayed 

withholding and deposit of payroll taxes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Save our Social Security Now Act’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Social Security is Americans’ commitment 

8 to each other; it is the foundation of retirement seVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8171.IH H8171

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1 curity and provides nearly all workers and their fam2 ilies with essential insurance protections for retire3 ment, disability, or death of a family breadwinner. 

4 (2) Americans are relying on Social Security 

5 more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic 

6 which is harming the very Americans who most rely 

7 on Social Security, our seniors, people with disabil8 ities, women and people of color. 

9 (3) Americans have consistently ranked Social 

10 Security as one of the most important Federal pro11 grams. 

12 (4) Social Security enjoys deep and sustained 

13 public support because it is a benefit workers earn 

14 through their payroll contributions with each and 

15 every paycheck under the Federal Insurance Con16 tributions Act (FICA). 

17 (5) 65 million people, or nearly 1 in 3 house18 holds, receive their earned Social Security benefits 

19 each month, including seniors, widows, people with 

20 disabilities, children, and veterans. 

21 (6) Social Security’s progressive benefit for22 mula, family benefits, and disability and survivor 

23 protections make the program especially important 

24 to communities of color and to women, as it partially 

25 mitigates the systemic inequalities in the rest of the 


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1 retirement system, which mirror systemic inequal2 ities in the labor market. 

3 (7) Social Security’s guaranteed benefits lift 22 

4 million Americans out of poverty each year, and 

5 allow millions more to live with dignity after their 

6 retirement or disability. 

7 (8) Social Security pays $1 trillion in benefits 

8 each year, and beneficiaries return those funds to 

9 their local economies in every Congressional District 

10 in the nation when they pay for their homes, gro11 ceries, and medical care. 

12 (9) Social Security functions as an automatic 

13 stabilizer and economic stimulus during recessions, 

14 and the current economic and public health crises 

15 make the program’s role more important than ever, 

16 as beneficiaries can count on its monthly payments 

17 as a reliable source of income. 

18 (10) At its inception 85 years ago, Social Secu19 rity was created by President Roosevelt as an earned 

20 benefit program where workers’ benefits are fun21 damentally linked to their earnings from work. 

22 (11) Payroll deductions under the FICA are the 

23 contributions that workers and their employers pay 

24 into Social Security, and represent the direct link 

25 between earnings and benefits. 


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1 (12) These payroll contributions provide a se2 cure and dedicated source of revenue to finance the 

3 earned benefits. 

4 (13) Eliminating these payroll contributions 

5 would end Social Security, making it unable to pay 

6 any disability benefits beginning in 2021 and unable 

7 to pay any retirement or survivor benefits beginning 

8 in 2023. 

9 (14) Social Security is irreplaceable and has 

10 been a cornerstone of our nation’s social compact for 

11 more than three-quarters of a century. 

12 (15) The President’s recent executive action to 

13 defer payroll taxes from September through Decem14 ber 2020 is the first step in his announced plan to 

15 entirely defund Social Security by eliminating pay16 roll contributions altogether beginning in 2021. 

17 (16) Eliminating the payroll tax would destroy 

18 Social Security and with it the financial stability of 

19 generations of retirees, widows, children, and people 

20 with severe disabilities. 

21 (17) Therefore, Congress rejects the President’s 

22 proposals to defer now and eliminate later the pay23 roll contributions which fund Social Security’s 

24 earned benefits. 


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1 SEC. 2. NULLIFICATION OF CERTAIN EXECUTIVE ACTIONS 

2 TO PERMIT THE DELAYED WITHHOLDING 

3 AND DEPOSIT OF PAYROLL TAXES. 

4 As of the date of the enactment of this Act, neither 

5 the Secretary of the Treasury, nor any delegate of the Sec6 retary of the Treasury, shall implement Internal Revenue 

7 Service Notice 2020–65 (entitled ‘‘Relief with Respect to 

8 Employment Tax Deadlines Applicable to Employers Af9 fected by the Ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disease 

10 2019 Pandemic’’) and such Notice shall be null and void. 

Æ 


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