Save our Social Security Now Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8171 To nullify certain executive actions to permit the delayed withholding and deposit of payroll taxes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself, Mr. NEAL, Mr. THOMPSON of Cali- fornia, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. BEYER, Ms. MOORE, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. EVANS, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. KIND, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. HIMES, Mrs. HAYES, and Ms. SEWELL of Alabama) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To nullify certain executive actions to permit the delayed withholding and deposit of payroll taxes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Save our Social Security Now Act’’. 5 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 6 (1) Social Security is Americans’ commitment 7 to each other; it is the foundation of retirement se- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8171.IH H8171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8171 IH curity and provides nearly all workers and their fam- 1 ilies with essential insurance protections for retire- 2 ment, disability, or death of a family breadwinner. 3 (2) Americans are relying on Social Security 4 more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic 5 which is harming the very Americans who most rely 6 on Social Security, our seniors, people with disabil- 7 ities, women and people of color. 8 (3) Americans have consistently ranked Social 9 Security as one of the most important Federal pro- 10 grams. 11 (4) Social Security enjoys deep and sustained 12 public support because it is a benefit workers earn 13 through their payroll contributions with each and 14 every paycheck under the Federal Insurance Con- 15 tributions Act (FICA). 16 (5) 65 million people, or nearly 1 in 3 house- 17 holds, receive their earned Social Security benefits 18 each month, including seniors, widows, people with 19 disabilities, children, and veterans. 20 (6) Social Security’s progressive benefit for- 21 mula, family benefits, and disability and survivor 22 protections make the program especially important 23 to communities of color and to women, as it partially 24 mitigates the systemic inequalities in the rest of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8171.IH H8171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8171 IH retirement system, which mirror systemic inequal- 1 ities in the labor market. 2 (7) Social Security’s guaranteed benefits lift 22 3 million Americans out of poverty each year, and 4 allow millions more to live with dignity after their 5 retirement or disability. 6 (8) Social Security pays $1 trillion in benefits 7 each year, and beneficiaries return those funds to 8 their local economies in every Congressional District 9 in the nation when they pay for their homes, gro- 10 ceries, and medical care. 11 (9) Social Security functions as an automatic 12 stabilizer and economic stimulus during recessions, 13 and the current economic and public health crises 14 make the program’s role more important than ever, 15 as beneficiaries can count on its monthly payments 16 as a reliable source of income. 17 (10) At its inception 85 years ago, Social Secu- 18 rity was created by President Roosevelt as an earned 19 benefit program where workers’ benefits are fun- 20 damentally linked to their earnings from work. 21 (11) Payroll deductions under the FICA are the 22 contributions that workers and their employers pay 23 into Social Security, and represent the direct link 24 between earnings and benefits. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8171.IH H8171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8171 IH (12) These payroll contributions provide a se- 1 cure and dedicated source of revenue to finance the 2 earned benefits. 3 (13) Eliminating these payroll contributions 4 would end Social Security, making it unable to pay 5 any disability benefits beginning in 2021 and unable 6 to pay any retirement or survivor benefits beginning 7 in 2023. 8 (14) Social Security is irreplaceable and has 9 been a cornerstone of our nation’s social compact for 10 more than three-quarters of a century. 11 (15) The President’s recent executive action to 12 defer payroll taxes from September through Decem- 13 ber 2020 is the first step in his announced plan to 14 entirely defund Social Security by eliminating pay- 15 roll contributions altogether beginning in 2021. 16 (16) Eliminating the payroll tax would destroy 17 Social Security and with it the financial stability of 18 generations of retirees, widows, children, and people 19 with severe disabilities. 20 (17) Therefore, Congress rejects the President’s 21 proposals to defer now and eliminate later the pay- 22 roll contributions which fund Social Security’s 23 earned benefits. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8171.IH H8171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8171 IH SEC. 2. NULLIFICATION OF CERTAIN EXECUTIVE ACTIONS 1 TO PERMIT THE DELAYED WITHHOLDING 2 AND DEPOSIT OF PAYROLL TAXES. 3 As of the date of the enactment of this Act, neither 4 the Secretary of the Treasury, nor any delegate of the Sec- 5 retary of the Treasury, shall implement Internal Revenue 6 Service Notice 2020–65 (entitled ‘‘Relief with Respect to 7 Employment Tax Deadlines Applicable to Employers Af- 8 fected by the Ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disease 9 2019 Pandemic’’) and such Notice shall be null and void. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Sep 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8171.IH H8171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS