Special Edition Newsletter – Protecting Social Security
For some time now, and with increasing frequency, the Left has been frightening senior citizens by falsely accusing conservatives of wanting to reduce Social Security benefits or Medicare. Let me set the record straight: I have repeatedly fought to increase social security benefits. For example, in 2021 I submitted H.R. 4453, the No Tax on Social Security Act and I will be reintroducing this bill this year. This legislation would change current tax policies by excluding Social Security benefits from being counted as annual gross income and subject to taxation.
In other words, if you get Social Security benefits, today you must pay income taxes, which can take up to 33 percent of your benefits. Under my bill, H.R. 4453,you would not pay federal income taxes on these benefits, and this would increase your benefits by up to 33 percent or whatever your tax rate has been. I said last year that the “decision by Congress to tax Social Security benefits in 1983 has been a public policy disaster from the beginning.
Not only has it deprived America’s senior citizens of benefits which they rightfully earned after a lifetime of hard work and paying into Social Security, but its failure to account for inflation means senior citizens are subject to an annual tax hike. It makes no sense for the federal government to punish senior citizens who saved for retirement or who continue to work. All this does is increase the scope of the federal government and deprive Americans of which they are rightfully entitled.”
I have another bill, HR 3564, to eliminatethe Optional Practice Training (OPT) Program which allows foreigners to work here but not pay into social security, but they can claim it. Thus giving employers an unfair incentive to hire inexpensive foreign labor rather than a comparable American worker.
I also cosponsored H.R. 864 and H.R. 756, common-sense legislation to eliminate social security benefits to illegal aliens. Every dollar they steal in benefits is a dollar lawful citizens can’t get.
I co-sponsored another very important bill, H.R. 82, legislation repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Sadly, many of my constituents have seen their benefits cut because of four-decade old federal laws eating into their Social Security entitlements they paid into.
This legislation would finally repeal WEP and the GPO which have unfairly penalized thousands of Arizonans who worked tirelessly their entire lives. This non-sense policy punishes hard work and prudent planning. If you paid into Social Security, the government should not punish you and take your lawfully earned benefits just because you’re a fire fighter, police officer or a teacher.
The bottom line is this: I have, and will continue, to fight for more and better Social Security benefits because I want you to keep the benefits you have earned.
