Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Republican Attacks On Social Security

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to denounce Vice President JD Vance’s false and inflammatory claims about Social Security, warning that Republican leaders are engaging in a coordinated campaign of disinformation to undermine the program and justify cuts that would harm millions of Americans. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

A few days ago, Vice President JD Vance claimed that 40% of people calling to get their Social Security “are committing fraud.”

First, it was Elon Musk calling Social Security a Ponzi Scheme.

Then, Donald Trump spent 10 minutes in his Congressional Address talking about checks to 150-year-olds – which we all know is a lie.

And now, the Vice President has picked up the axe and is coming for Social Security too.

We need to be very clear: what the Vice President said was malicious disinformation. His statement is factually incorrect. In the words of the Washington Post it is “absurdity on its face – the kind of twisted logic that turns up at the end of a long game of telephone tag.”

Well, we all know what game they’re playing. Donald Trump and his inner circle are howling about fraud, with the hopes of discrediting Social Security entirely.

Never mind that there is no rampant fraud in Social Security. Never mind that it's overwhelmingly popular with Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, rural people, suburban people, urban people.

Why are they doing this then? Why are they going after something that has been as sacred as Social Security since Franklin Roosevelt put the program together?

Why? So Republicans can cut taxes for the rich. This is a heist.

If JD Vance had any intellectual honesty, he would acknowledge that he was wrong when he said “40 percent of the people who are calling are actually committing fraud.” But I am not holding my breath.

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