Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) joined House Democrats in celebrating the 89th anniversary of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act into law and recommitting to protecting the program from proposed cuts.

“For 89 years, Social Security has upheld a sacred promise that if Americans pay into the program over a lifetime of work, it’ll be there to help them retire with the dignity they deserve. This vital program helps ensure that seniors and families across our nation are able to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, and afford their lifesaving prescription drugs,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “We must do everything in our power to not just protect Social Security, but strengthen it so it can support future generations. That’s why I strongly oppose Republican attempts to cut Social Security, and I’m committed to passing legislation like the Social Security 2100 Act to strengthen the benefits that millions of Americans depend on each month.”

In Massachusetts, 1,324,309 individuals receive Social Security benefits, including 139,233 in the Third District. For one in four seniors, Social Security provides more than 90 percent of their monthly income, and each year, the program keeps more than 22 million Americans above the poverty line. However, if Congress does not act, workers who retire after 2034 will receive only 77% of their full Social Security benefits.

Last year, Trahan partnered with Congressman John Larson (CT-01) to introduce the Social Security 2100 Act to protect and strengthen Social Security for future generations. Specifically the proposal would:

• Increase benefits 2% across the board for all Social Security beneficiaries for the first time in 52 years!
• Improve the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA), so it reflects the inflation actually experienced by seniors.
• Increase benefits to boost lower income seniors.
• Improve benefits for widows and widowers from two-income households.
• Restore student benefits up to age 26, for the dependent children of disabled, deceased, or retired workers.
• Increase access to benefits for children living with grandparents or other relatives.
• Repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) that currently penalize many public servants.
• End the 5-month waiting period to receive disability benefits.
• Increase benefits by an additional 5% for the most elderly who have been receiving benefits for 15 years or more.
• Provide caregiver credits to ensure that people (mostly women) are not penalized in retirement for taking time out of the workforce to care for children or other dependents.
• End the disability benefit cliff, replacing it with a gradual offset for earnings.
• Cut taxes for middle-income beneficiaries.
• Correct an unintended flaw in how Social Security benefits are wage-indexed, to prevent benefits from dropping (a “notch”) if the wage index decreases.
• Ensure that these benefits do not result in reduced Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments or a loss of eligibility for Medicaid or CHIP.
• Combine the “Old-Age and Survivors Insurance” (OASI) and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds into one fund to ensure seamless benefit payments.

To pay for the increased benefits, the Social Security 2100 Act would:

• Ensure millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share by applying FICA to earnings above $400,000, with those extra earnings counted toward benefits at a reduced rate.
• Closing the loophole of avoiding FICA taxes and receiving a lower rate on investment income by adding an additional 12.4% net investment income tax (NIIT) only for taxpayers making over $400,000.

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