Expand Social Security

The Promise We Made to Every American

Social Security represents the most successful anti-poverty program in American history. In 2021 alone, it lifted 26.3 million Americans out of poverty, including 18.3 million seniors who would otherwise face destitution in their final years.¹ For nearly nine decades, this program has embodied a simple promise: if you work hard and contribute throughout your career, you will have dignity and security in retirement. Yet today, that promise is under assault from Republicans who seek to cut benefits while billionaires pay a smaller share of their income into the system than working-class Americans.

The average Social Security benefit is just $1,688 per month—barely $20,000 per year.² For millions of seniors, this modest sum represents the difference between survival and catastrophe. Nearly 40 percent of seniors rely on Social Security for the majority of their income, and one in seven depend on it for more than 90 percent of what they have to live on.² These are not abstractions. These are grandparents choosing between medications and groceries, widows stretching pennies to keep the heat on, retired workers who spent decades contributing to our economy now struggling to afford basic necessities in the richest country on Earth.

The situation grows more alarming when we examine retirement preparedness across the broader population. Nearly half of Americans aged 55 and older have no retirement savings whatsoever.² For these workers approaching their final working years, Social Security will not supplement other income sources—it will be all they have. As pensions have disappeared and 401(k) plans have proven inadequate for most workers, Social Security has become the last remaining pillar of retirement security for the American middle class.

The Billionaire Loophole

The Social Security system contains a fundamental inequity that most Americans do not realize exists. In 2025, workers pay Social Security payroll taxes only on their first $176,100 in earnings.³ Every dollar earned above that cap escapes taxation entirely. This means a nurse earning $80,000 pays Social Security tax on every dollar of her income, while a hedge fund manager earning $30 million pays the same flat amount as someone making $176,100—and nothing on the remaining $29.8 million.

This regressive structure means that the wealthiest Americans pay the lowest effective Social Security tax rates. A CEO earning $30 million pays an effective rate of just 0.04 percent of his total income into Social Security, while his secretary pays 6.2 percent on every dollar she earns. The program that protects working families is funded disproportionately by working families, while those who have benefited most from the American economy contribute the least relative to their means.

The Social Security Expansion Act

Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Jan Schakowsky, and Representative Val Hoyle have introduced the Social Security Expansion Act to address these inequities while strengthening benefits for all Americans.² This legislation would expand Social Security benefits by $2,400 per year—approximately $200 per month—for the average beneficiary, providing meaningful relief to seniors struggling with rising costs.²

The bill would fund this expansion and extend Social Security’s solvency through 2096 by requiring millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.² Currently, earnings above $176,100 escape Social Security taxation entirely. The Social Security Expansion Act would apply the payroll tax to all income above $250,000, closing the loophole that allows the wealthy to pay lower effective rates than middle-class workers.² This change would not raise taxes on any household earning $250,000 or less—more than 93 percent of American households.²

The legislation includes additional provisions to strengthen the program for those who need it most. It would improve the Special Minimum Benefit to help low-income workers stay out of poverty in retirement. It would restore student benefits for children of disabled or deceased workers up to age 22, recognizing that losing a parent should not mean losing access to higher education. It would increase Cost-of-Living Adjustments to ensure that benefits keep pace with the actual expenses seniors face, rather than understating inflation as current formulas do.²

The Republican Threat

While Democrats work to expand and strengthen Social Security, Republicans have made clear their intention to cut the program. The threat is not hypothetical. Republican budget proposals have repeatedly targeted Social Security for cuts, and leading figures in the party have called for raising the retirement age, reducing benefits, or privatizing the system entirely. These proposals would break the promise made to every American worker who has paid into the system throughout their career.

Raising the retirement age represents a particularly cruel form of benefit cut that falls hardest on working-class Americans. While a corporate lawyer might happily work until 70, a construction worker, nurse, or factory employee often cannot physically continue in their profession into their late 60s. Life expectancy gains have not been evenly distributed—wealthier Americans live significantly longer than poorer Americans, meaning that raising the retirement age transfers wealth from those with shorter lifespans to those who will collect benefits for decades.

The push to cut Social Security reflects a broader ideological project to dismantle the social insurance programs that protect American families. The same politicians who passed $1.9 trillion in tax cuts primarily benefiting corporations and the wealthy now claim we cannot afford to maintain—let alone expand—benefits for seniors living on $1,688 per month. The choice is not between fiscal responsibility and Social Security. The choice is between tax cuts for billionaires and dignity for retirees.

We Must Expand Social Security

I support the Social Security Expansion Act and will cosponsor it on day one. We must expand Social Security benefits by $2,400 per year for seniors struggling with rising costs. We must extend the program’s solvency for 75 years by requiring millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. We must improve benefits for low-income retirees, restore student benefits for children who have lost parents, and ensure Cost-of-Living Adjustments reflect the actual expenses seniors face.

The funding mechanism is straightforward and fair. Applying the Social Security payroll tax to income above $250,000 asks nothing additional from 93 percent of American households while closing the loophole that allows billionaires to pay lower effective rates than nurses and teachers. A CEO earning $30 million should not pay less into Social Security, as a percentage of income, than the workers who make his company function.

Social Security works. It has lifted tens of millions of Americans out of poverty. It has provided dignity and security to generations of retirees. It represents the best of what government can do when we choose solidarity over selfishness, shared security over individual vulnerability. We must not allow ideologues and billionaires to dismantle this program. We must expand it, strengthen it, and ensure it remains the foundation of retirement security for generations to come.

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