IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1077 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives against severe changes 

to Social Security. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 5, 2010 

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. STARK, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. 

THOMPSON of California, Mr. FILNER, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Ms. SLAUGHTER, 

Ms. DELAURO, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. DAVIS

of Illinois, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. SKELTON, 

Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. 

KIND, Mr. OBEY, and Mr. WAXMAN) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives against 

severe changes to Social Security. 

Whereas Social Security has successfully and efficiently provided the foundation for Americans’ retirement security 

for generations and should be preserved for generations 

to come; 

Whereas for 6 in 10 seniors, Social Security provides the majority of their retirement income, and Social Security provides nearly all of the income received by four out of ten 

widows and other non-married seniors; 


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•HRES 1077 IH 

Whereas Social Security’s essential protections for workers 

and their families cannot be matched by private savings, 

which are a complement to, but not a substitute for, Social Security’s guaranteed benefits; 

Whereas, as one such protection, Social Security provides a 

guaranteed benefit that one can never outlive, and unlike 

private savings or investments, is not subject to the ups 

and downs of the stock market; 

Whereas, as another such protection, Social Security benefits 

are indexed to inflation to maintain purchasing power 

over time, which is particularly important for women because they live longer on average than men, and the impact of inflation compounds over time; 

Whereas, as another such protection, Social Security provides 

family benefits, protecting not only the worker but dependent children and the surviving spouse; 

Whereas, as another such protection, Social Security not only 

provides a secure foundation of retirement, but it provides essential income to workers with severe disabilities 

and to survivors, representing, for a typical young family, 

a $413,000 disability insurance policy and a $430,000 

life insurance policy; 

Whereas, as another such protection, Social Security’s progressive benefit formula ensures that those with the least 

opportunity to make supplemental provision for retirement receive the greatest degree of protection from Social 

Security; 

Whereas, for 75 years, Social Security has never been a day 

late or a dollar short; 

Whereas the American people made clear in 2005 that they 

did not seek severe change in Social Security when they 


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•HRES 1077 IH 

resoundingly rejected President Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security in favor of preserving a secure, 

guaranteed foundation of retirement income free from the 

risks and losses of the stock market; 

Whereas the current minority party plan for Social Security 

is even more extreme than the plan they advanced in 

2005: (1) it cuts guaranteed Social Security retirement 

and survivor benefits for all workers, whether or not they 

wish to have a private account; (2) it diverts trillions 

from the Trust Fund into private accounts—eventually, 

four out of every ten dollars of Trust Fund contributions 

would be diverted to private accounts—threatening the 

ability of the Trust Funds to pay benefits to today’s seniors; (3) it increases Federal borrowing by 

$4,100,000,000,000; and (4) it subjects workers’ basic 

retirement security to market volatility and the risk of 

losses; and 

Whereas privatizing Social Security means benefit cuts, diversion of Trust Fund resources, subjecting individuals to 

market risk and losses, and increasing Federal borrowing 

by trillions of dollars: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Congress should stand with the 

2 American people to reject severe changes to Social Secu3 rity, including any and all attempts to privatize Social Se4 curity, and instead should commit to work bipartisanly to 

5 make common-sense adjustments to Social Security to 

6 strengthen it for future generations while preserving its 

7 guarantees of secure income and family protection in the 

8 event of a worker’s death, retirement, or severe disability. 

Æ 


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