During remarks on the Senate floor Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) spoke about the Trump administration's attacks on the Social Security Administration.
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00:00So, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are taking a chainsaw to Social Security.
00:19For nearly a century, Social Security has been there for tens of millions of Americans.
00:24But now, Trump and Musk are threatening to tear all of that down.
00:29They are firing staff.
00:31They're plotting to close down offices.
00:34They're making it harder for people to get help over the telephone.
00:39Trump's pick to head up Social Security, Frank Bisognano, will rubber stamp Trump and Musk's
00:47attack on Social Security.
00:50He'll let them keep slashing services.
00:52He'll let them keep threatening benefits.
00:54And that's going to hurt people everywhere.
00:57From seniors who count on their monthly checks right now to the parents of kids with a disability
01:03supported by Social Security to every American who is paying into the program now for results
01:11later on down the line.
01:14Social Security, by the way, is more than just a retirement program.
01:18It is insurance.
01:20If you are 30 years old today and you get in an accident and become disabled, Social Security
01:26has you covered.
01:27If you have a child and something happens to you, that kid will get Social Security benefits.
01:34Donald Trump and Elon Musk want to rip that protection away.
01:38Two people who don't have the slightest clue how much Social Security means to families are
01:46now threatening Americans' benefits in order to pay for giant tax cuts for billionaires.
01:53And since those two cannot begin to imagine what it means for working people, let's tell
02:00them what Social Security does.
02:02A few weeks ago, I posted a video explaining what Trump and Musk were doing to Social Security.
02:09And I asked people, just tell your stories.
02:12And the stories came flooding in.
02:14And here are just a few.
02:16Quote, I'm on Social Security disability.
02:20It's about 95 percent of my total income.
02:24Every month since Trump took office this year, I have worried about whether or not my Social
02:30Security payment will come as usual.
02:33Yeah.
02:34Millions of people out there who are worried about getting their Social Security payments
02:39on time because Trump and Musk are out there with that famous chainsaw doing what they can
02:45to make it harder for people to get the benefits that they have earned.
02:50Or here's another.
02:52I've had Medicare medication coverage for around 20 years.
02:57And all of a sudden, with Musk's appearance, I've had to fight to keep it.
03:03Here's someone who has a legal right, a benefit, and now, thanks to Elon Musk, has to be in
03:11the fight in order to keep what this person is entitled to.
03:16Or another.
03:18I've been getting my Social Security check with zero problems for 15 years.
03:23Last night, I was so worried about me not getting a check that I stayed up to the early morning
03:29hours to make sure it was in my account.
03:33Thanks to Trump and Musk, I worry if I will be able to pay my rent every month.
03:39Since Trump has been in office, it's been extremely stressful.
03:44Now, that's the stress people are feeling about whether or not they will have access to the
03:50money that they invested year after year when they were working, the money that they earned
03:57their Social Security benefits.
03:59Or another.
04:00We have a son born with Down syndrome, and we are now retired, depending on our Social Security
04:07for the three of us, for food, utilities, clothing, medical services, things that we
04:13worked for all our lives, only to have billionaires come in and take what little we have to live
04:21on away.
04:22Yeah.
04:23The billionaires may not care about Social Security, but here's someone who depends on it
04:29every day.
04:30Or another.
04:32I'm about to turn 65 and have had a nightmare of a time trying to even talk to a real human
04:40being at the Social Security office.
04:42It's been just a series of dead ends and mistakes piled atop confusion.
04:49And boy, there's the heart of it.
04:51Donald Trump and Elon Musk can't legally cut Social Security benefits, but what Trump and Musk
04:58are now doing is cutting access to being able to get your Social Security benefits started,
05:03which has a very similar effect for people who don't get what they earned all their lives.
05:11Or here's another.
05:12I had cancer at 52 years old, stage 4 uterine cancer.
05:17I spent more than a year fighting cancer.
05:21I am currently 66 years old and fighting the chronic pain from the chemicals they use to treat
05:27the cancer.
05:28I rely on my Social Security to survive.
05:32What am I going to do?
05:35This is what's happening in America now, because Donald Trump and Elon Musk are taking a chainsaw
05:41to Social Security.
05:43Or another.
05:44I'm 71 years old and work part-time as a data technician in dementia research, so my Social
05:51Security benefits supplement my income.
05:54I'm anxious that eventually I, too, will have my Social Security check delayed or stopped
06:01altogether.
06:03Or another.
06:05We all need Social Security to survive as a nation.
06:08I myself have been having it drawn out of my paychecks for over 40 years, but haven't
06:15retired yet and will need it shortly.
06:18My only hope is that it's still there when I need it.
06:21We earn that right to collect this money and will not let a bunch of billionaires take it
06:27from us.
06:28Amen.
06:30I have worked since I was 16 years old, and now I am 71, but I still work part-time.
06:36It goes without saying that I need my Social Security benefits to survive.
06:42And since Trump and Musk took over, I don't know from one month to the next what might happen.
06:48Again, so scary now.
06:50This is what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing to people who are counting on Social
06:55Security.
06:56Or another.
06:58I only get $25,000 yearly from Social Security, and it constitutes more than half my income.
07:05I have a small pension from the company where I worked for 40 years.
07:08If I lose my Social Security, I'll have to support myself and my sister who cannot work.
07:16I don't have much in savings due to continuing medical expenses over the years.
07:20We need my Social Security to survive.
07:24I'll say that again.
07:25We need my Social Security to survive.
07:29Or another.
07:30I'm a Social Security employee, and I just want to say thank you for standing up for the
07:36programs SSA runs and the beneficiaries.
07:41It is true it's been becoming harder for people to access their benefits, but also for other
07:48services, such as getting their Social Security card replaced.
07:52There are some days where people are waiting for eight hours just to talk to a customer service
08:01representative, or they don't even get the call back and have to call again the next day
08:07to have an issue resolved.
08:09That's if they have the time to call the next day.
08:13That is testimony from the front lines from someone who works at the Social Security Administration,
08:20lines that are eight hours long.
08:24Or another.
08:25I went to a Social Security office yesterday because I needed to change my direct deposit
08:30for my monthly benefits.
08:33The doors were locked.
08:34All the booths were shuttered.
08:36Sign on the door said, quote, by appointment only.
08:40And there was a number to call, which I did.
08:43The automated system put me on hold.
08:46And the recording said 15-minute wait.
08:49And after time passed, the recording said I would be helped as soon as possible.
08:54Then said they were receiving higher than normal call volumes.
08:59After several rings, the recording said, leave a message, which I did, and someone will return
09:05your call.
09:06But that hasn't happened yet.
09:08As I sat outside that office, another person walked up and said he heard that we have to
09:14go into the office in person to show our ID or lose our benefits.
09:20Then realized the door was locked.
09:22Now I am very concerned that I might not get my benefits in the future.
09:28So, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, that is what your attack on Social Security means for Americans.
09:34More problems and fewer people to fix them.
09:38Hours on the phone or hours waiting in line in an office trying to get help.
09:42All to get the benefits that people have paid into their entire working lives.
09:50That is money they have earned and money they are owed.
09:54Frank Bissignato has made clear he will not stop the chaos.
10:00He will not stop the harm.
10:02That is wrong.
10:03And on behalf of every single American who counts on Social Security, I am voting no on
10:09this appointment.
10:10And I encourage all of my colleagues, Democrat and Republican, to do the same.
10:16And I encourage all of my colleagues, Democrat and Republican, to do the same thing as well.