More than 200 House Democrats introduce bill to expand Social Security

The Secure 2100 Act would protect and expand Social Security benefits to ensure no one retires in poverty.

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Image Credit: Greg Nash

Introduced by more than 200 House Democrats, the Secure 2100 Act would protect and expand Social Security benefits to ensure no one retires in poverty. The bill would “subject the earnings of wealthy Americans to the program’s payroll tax” and “prevent Social Security benefits from eroding over time by more accurately adjusting them to rising costs of living,” Common Dreams reported.

The Social Security Act, which was signed into law by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, was a structure built, but “by no means complete” and the Secure 2100 Act is the next chapter to that structure.

“When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act of 1935 into law, he stated that the legislation represented ‘a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means complete.’ It is extremely fitting that the Social Security 2100 Act was introduced today, the 137th anniversary of Roosevelt’s birth,” Nancy Altman, Social Security Works president, said. “Having written several books on the history of Social Security, I am confident that today’s bill introduction and what follows will add a significant new chapter to that history.”

Sponsored by Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), the newly introduced legislation would set the minimum benefit to 25 percent above the poverty line. The bill is also being applauded for its guarantee that “every penny of promised Social Security benefits, including the increases, can be paid in full and on time through the 21st century and beyond, just as they always have been paid,” Altman said.

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