WASHINGTON, July 18, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Seniors Center has begun a national campaign to support H.R. 1218, the Social Security and Medicare Lock-Box Act. The nonprofit organization has contacted 420,507 voters in 35 states and has begun a petition drive that has already collected 132,000 signatures.
"H.R. 1218 is a huge step towards shoring up Social Security," said Dan Perrin, President of The Seniors Center. "I'm really grateful to Congressman Tim Wahlberg for taking the lead on this."
Introduced in February, H.R. 1218 seeks to create a true physical Trust Fund in the form of a Social Security Surplus Protection Account. The Secretary of the Treasury would be directed by law to transfer all surpluses into this account for safe keeping.
In addition, H.R. 1218 would limit the federal government's ability to spend surplus funds, prohibiting Congress from investing funds in anything but U.S. obligations without passing law to authorize the transfer.
"We're in constant contact with seniors and beneficiaries every day. And what they're telling us is very simple," said Perrin. "They worked very hard to honor their end of the Social Security bargain. They made their payroll tax contributions throughout their careers counting on Social Security to help pay for retirement."
"Then one day they find out there is no Trust Fund. Their savings have been spent. And now we're talking about imminent benefit cuts in a matter of years. H.R. 1218 puts Social Security money into a real account—a real account only to be used to pay for Social Security benefits."
The Seniors Center has gathered 132,552 thousand signatures offering support to Congressman Wahlberg and calling for the quick passage of the Social Security and Medicare Lockbox Act. The organization has also involved its 160,000 on line activists and is continuing to build grassroots support both online and through direct mail.
H.R. 1218 has been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means where it awaits further study before it can be released back to the House for debate. The Seniors Center hopes to provide Rep. Wahlberg with an outpouring of citizen support to motivate Committee members to act.
For more information about The Seniors Center, visit the The Seniors Center's website here.
SOURCE The Seniors Center
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