August 14, 2020
Retirees Mark Social Security’s 85th Anniversary with Jill Biden and Retiree Leaders Across the Country
Retirees are commemorating the 85th anniversary of Social Security on Friday with a virtual event featuring Jill Biden, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, actor Louis Gossett Jr., Alliance President Robert Roach, Jr. and three Alliance members with personal stories to share. They will discuss Joe Biden’s plans to protect and expand Social Security as President.
“Social Security has been with us since FDR signed it into law, and this anniversary is an opportunity to remind Americans we cannot take its future for granted,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “President Trump has vowed to terminate Social Security funding if he is re-elected. Retirees must fight to preserve it, expand it and make sure it is here for our grandchildren, as former Vice President Biden has laid out in his plan.”
Several other Alliance virtual events across the country will amplify the message by highlighting the success of the program, which has been a bedrock for retirees, people with disabilities and surviving family members of deceased workers since 1935.
The events all call for expanding Social Security and protecting it from President Donald Trump’s attempts to defund it through an Executive Order that depletes the Trust Fund.
In addition to the event with Jill Biden, Reps. Alcee Hastings and Kathy Castor will join Executive Director Fiesta for a Florida Alliance event today on Zoom. Another Friday anniversary event, with Reps. Brendan Boyle, Matt Cartright, and Michael Doyle of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Alliance member Jody Weinreich, will focus on the details of the serious threat posed by President Trump’s Executive Order that cuts the payroll taxes funding Social Security and could terminate the program if Trump is reelected.
A second Florida event features former Sen. Bill Nelson, Reps. Al Lawson and Lois Frankel and Florida Alliance Recording Secretary Barbara DeVane, and a Minnesota Alliance event includes Rep. Angie Craig. The Nevada Alliance is also holding a Social Security virtual event today.
Earlier events this week have included a conversation with Rep. Mark Pocan hosted by the Wisconsin Alliance and a North Carolina Alliance event. Next week Massachusetts Alliance members will continue to make the case for expanding, rather than gutting, the program.
###
Contact: David Blank, dblank@retiredamericans.org
