Seventy-one years ago, Democrats created Social Security to provide retirement security for all Americans. In 1935, bank failures and a stock market crash wiped out the savings of millions of Americans. Old age meant poverty and dependence. When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the historic measure into law in August of that year, he envisioned that Social Security would provide benefits to workers that they had earned during their working years, which in turn would allow them to retire with dignity and independence. Today, it is clear that Social Security has succeeded in meeting President Roosevelt's grand goal.
Social Security is a great American success story that safeguards Americans' economic security when they get older. Social Security has provided more than 70 years of rock solid, guaranteed benefits -- providing financial security to millions of seniors, surviving spouses, and people with disabilities. Right now, one out of every four households receives monthly benefits from Social Security -- 33 million Americans receive retirement benefits, and another 15 million receive survivors and disability benefits. More than 4.4 million of these Social Security beneficiaries live in California.
Democrats have fought to strengthen and improve Social Security to better help America's families. In the 1950s, we added disability benefits. In the 1960s, we created Medicare to guarantee health care for our seniors. In 1983, Democrats worked with President Reagan in a bipartisan way to come up with a plan to make sure that Social Security would be there for generations to come. In the 1990s, Democrats fought to restore fiscal responsibility, and we saved every penny of the Social Security surplus for several years in order to strengthen Social Security.
However, as many in Congress have fought to strengthen Social Security, risky proposals to privatize Social Security threaten to undermine its very existence. Last year, President Bush's top priority was a Social Security plan that would dismantle Social Security and cut its guaranteed benefits. And further, it would increase our national debt by $5 trillion over 20 years, passing the bill onto our children and grandchildren. Over all, it would drain trillions from Social Security and make it harder to pay guaranteed benefits.
Despite opposition by the American public that forced Republicans to temporarily put aside their plan, the Bush Administration and Congressional Republicans quietly persist with efforts to privatize Social Security. This year's budget sets aside $712 billion over the next 10 years for Social Security privatization. In July, when the President updated his budget, it contained Social Security private accounts. Further, top Administration officials and Republican congressional leaders have said several times that they plan to try again to privatize Social Security after the 2006 election.
On its 71th anniversary, American families can truly celebrate the success of Social Security. After all, Social Security has never failed to pay promised benefits. It has never been a day late or a dollar short, and I along with my Democratic colleagues will continue to fight to make sure its great success continues for generations to come.
-- ### --
