During Wednesday’s Senate Democrats’ press briefing, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) discussed the importance of social security and the threats the program faces because of DOGE.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon, everybody, and I want to thank everyone for joining me.
00:13Senator Wyden, our ranking member on finance, he's been such a great leader on this issue
00:17as has everyone else here.
00:19Senator Cantwell, Senator Van Hollen, and Senator Markey is expected.
00:25So look, we all know how important Social Security is.
00:28It's almost sacred in America since Franklin Roosevelt passed it.
00:33It's one of the most popular programs that we have in the country.
00:37Seventy-three million seniors depend on Social Security.
00:44The check they get each month helps pay for their food, their medicine, their rent, their
00:48mortgage if they still have a mortgage.
00:52And this administration is intent on slashing Social Security so that they can get more
01:00tax breaks for their billionaire buddies.
01:02I never thought I'd see the day, but that's what's happening.
01:06And if you don't believe us, listen to them.
01:09Musk says it's a Ponzi scheme.
01:12Tell the 78-year-old lady who needs it for medicine that it's a Ponzi scheme, that she
01:18shouldn't get her check.
01:20Roosevelt spent 10 minutes lying about Social Security when he addressed the joint session.
01:27And now we have the Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Lutnick, saying his mother-in-law wouldn't
01:34mind missing a check.
01:36Well, no mother-in-law would miss minding a check if they have a billionaire son-in-law.
01:42It's outrageous, the callousness, the meanness, the viciousness of what they're doing.
01:48Now their goal is clear, destroy Social Security from within.
01:55Make it so unworkable, so inefficient, that Donald Trump has the pretext to slash benefits
02:02to kill it and then privatize the program.
02:06Because it's very clear what's happening right now.
02:10What they're doing is in effect a benefit cut.
02:14Politicians across America aren't getting the help they need to get their checks.
02:19They're closing offices.
02:21I believe they intend to close 60 percent of all the Social Security offices.
02:26The citizens in Chemung County in New York, in Elmira, I just was speaking to them, were
02:33outraged that they're closing that office.
02:36They're closing the White Plains office, which 200,000 people come to every year.
02:45And what is the intent?
02:47Kill Social Security by strangling it, by not letting it work, by making it so that
02:58it's impossible for people to get their help and their benefits.
03:037,000 workers being laid off.
03:07You know what that means?
03:08Some people could wait up to three years to get their benefits.
03:12That's what they're doing.
03:14And it is simply, simply outrageous.
03:18The acting commissioner, handpicked by Doge, said Musk's claims of fraud are false.
03:27And Musk, by the way, at one point said, let's eliminate it.
03:31They've revealed their true colors.
03:33Trump and Musk are just eroding the American dream.
03:39They're rigging the system for billionaires, while stealing from the elderly, from the
03:44disabled, to cut taxes for their billionaire club.
03:49Senate Republicans, every Senate Republican, should be demanding that Musk reverse the
03:56firings.
03:57If they say they believe in Social Security, then they ought to be telling Musk, stop.
04:04But Senate Republicans are just silent, letting it happen.
04:09They're afraid of Trump.
04:11Now yesterday, at the hearing in the Finance Committee, which Ron and Maria were at, we
04:17heard from Trump's pick to lead the Social Security Administration, Frank Bisognano.
04:25To confirm Mr. Bisognano as head of Social Security, is hiring an arsonist to run the
04:32fire station.
04:34I've known this guy for 20 years.
04:36He's a cutter.
04:38Companies bring him in to slash benefits, to slash, rather, companies bring him in to
04:45slash workers, and he, his fame, his claim to fame is cutting and shrinking.
04:54The last person we need to run the Social Security office.
05:01President Trump, if he cares at all about Social Security, should withdraw his nomination
05:07immediately.
05:10This man should not be running Social Security.
05:14Trump said in his campaign he wanted to preserve Social Security.
05:18He's already dismantling it, and with Bisognano, he's likely to destroy it.
05:24President Trump, withdraw his name now.
05:29Time is short to stop permanent damage to Social Security.
05:34If Republicans continue to do it, the political backlash will just be unprecedented.
05:39Ron.