February 21, 2023

Senators Sanders and Warren, Reps. Schakowsky and Hoyle Introduce Legislation to Expand Social Security

As Republicans threaten cuts to Social Security and other essential federal programs, Sens. Bernie Sanders (VT) and Elizabeth Warren (MA), along with Reps. Jan Schakowsky (IL) and Val Hoyle (OR), introduced legislation Monday that would expand Social Security benefits by $200 a month across the board and ensure Social Security is fully funded for the next 75 years.

The bill would not raise taxes on the 93% of American households that make $250,000 or less per year.

S. 393, the Social Security Expansion Act, also increases Cost-Of-Living-Adjustments by adopting the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) and updates the Special Minimum Benefit for Social Security recipients by making it easier to qualify, helping low-income workers to stay out of poverty.

The bill does not, however, repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which prevents 2.5 million retirees from receiving all of the Social Security benefits they have earned. The Alliance supports both Social Security expansion and repeal of the unfair WEP-GPO provisions.

“Social Security should be expanded, not cut or changed,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “This bill shows that we can strengthen Social Security for current and future generations – and increase benefits – if we require the wealthiest American households to pay their fair share of Social Security taxes.”