FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday December 9th, 2016

Contact:

Linda Benesch, lbenesch@socialsecurityworks.org

Rep. Sam Johnson’s Social Security Cutting Bill Violates Donald Trump’s Promise to the American People

(Washington, DC) — The following is a statement from Nancy Altman, founding co-director of Social Security Works, in response to Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (TX-03) introducing legislation that would cut and radically change Social Security:

“No one voted for massive cuts to Social Security, nor to end the program as we know it. Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to not touch Social Security. But the powerful Chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee has just unveiled a proposal that would slash Social Security benefits and radically transform the program. The Johnson plan would gradually but inexorably turn Social Security from a program that replaces wages to one that produces essentially one flat benefit, independent of how much a worker contributed.

Moreover, the proposal would reduce Social Security’s cost of living increases (COLAs) for everyone and eliminate them entirely for some, even though COLAs are already inadequate. And this radical plan would reduce benefits for spouses and children of workers so seriously disabled that they can no longer support their families.

With Republicans in full control of the federal government, these cuts have a real chance of being passed into law. Trump needs to immediately reassure the American people that he will keep his campaign promise and veto this awful bill.  He should tweet that immediately.”

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Social Security Works staffs the Strengthen Social Security Coalition, which is comprised of more than 350 national and state organizations representing more than 50 million Americans from many of the nation’s leading aging, labor, disability, women’s, veterans’, consumer, civil rights and equality organizations.