Social Security
Social Security is a national treasure. Without its guaranteed, inflation-adjusted benefits, about half of seniors would be living in poverty. The average Social Security retirement benefit is modest – about $17,536 a year ($2,000 less for women) but 6 in 10 seniors rely on those benefits for a majority of their income and 1 in 3 for 90 percent of more. That is why I so strongly oppose proposals to cut benefits, change the formula to reduce annual cost-of-living adjustments, or raise the age of eligibility. Social Security doesn't contribute to today's or tomorrow's deficits – by law it cannot borrow – so benefits should not be cut to reduce them. Nor do we need to cut benefits to provide for the long-term (75 year) solvency of the Trust Fund, which has a $2.89 trillion surplus. Instead, I believe that we should scrap or significantly raise the wage cap. Today, 94% of Americans pay the FICA tax on 100% of their income, up to $132,000 in annual wages. Lifting the wage cap would affect only the top 6% of all wage earners but it would solve Social Security's long-term solvency gap and, with a few other modest changes, provide enough revenues to make benefit improvements.
Those improvements would allow us to recognize the work of those who take time out of the workforce to care for family members, provide benefits to students up to age 22, and provide a higher COLA that accounts for the higher costs facing seniors today.
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President Donald Trump promised to lower the high cost of living in the United States, and he has done the exact opposite. The chaos, confusion, and fear Trump has unleashed during his first month in office has not improved the quality of life of the American people. But billionaires? They are getting more tax cuts. Trump and Elon Musk would rather gut lifesaving programs and agencies than ask the rich to pay their fair share.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) released the following statement on Elon Musk’s efforts to override congressional spending decisions and authority:
On Friday, I voted in favor of a continuing resolution to keep our government open and funded. While the continuing resolution did not include everything I had initially wanted, we could not let the government shut down. A government shutdown right before the holidays would have forced our troops to work without pay, harmed small businesses, risked air travel disruptions, endangered access to food assistance for millions of mothers and their children, and so much more.
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) released the following statement on the continuing resolution to keep government programs and services functioning until March 14, 2025:
Thank you to the people of Illinois’ 9th Congressional District for once again choosing me to be your voice in Congress. It truly is the honor of a lifetime! The fight for equal rights for all, an economy that works for everyday Americans, not just the rich, reproductive rights, and environmental protections goes on. Keep the faith. Let's get to work.
A fundamental building block of our democracy is the right of American citizens to vote and choose their representatives. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. If you need information on your polling place, or would like to locate a ballot drop box location, please go to Elections.IL.Gov. I encourage everyone to make their voice heard if you have not already.
One year ago this week, the world saw the worst perpetration of violence inflicted on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The terrorist organization Hamas took the lives of over 1,200 people in Israel, injured over 3,000 more, and captured over 200 people – including many American citizens.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin was a courageous ray of light with a bright future ahead of him. I’m devastated to learn that he was killed by Hamas and his body was recovered from a tunnel in Rafah alongside five other hostages.
Last week, I joined nearly all Democrats in voting against passage of the shortsighted and harmful National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025. The original NDAA that passed out of committee 57-1 included numerous provisions that would make life better for service members and their families, including a 19.5% pay raise for junior enlisted troops, a 4.5% increase for all other service members, increased investments in childcare, and a restoration of the full Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH).