[Pages S2500-S2501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Trump Administration

  Mr. President, since Inauguration Day, President Trump has been hard 
at work addressing one of the biggest threats that our Nation faces; 
that is, our $36 trillion debt. Unlike the last administration, the 
Trump administration has been very vocal. They are choosing to save the 
taxpayer money, and I will have to say that so far, they have had a 
tremendous amount of success.
  Now, I know some of my colleagues want to complain about DOGE, and 
they are not fond of the Department of Government Efficiency. I think 
it is worthy to note that DOGE so far has identified more than $140 
billion in potential savings for the American people. They have found 
this by going into each Department, working with the Secretaries of the 
different Departments, the heads of the Agencies, and they are 
reviewing unused Federal leases, Federal contracts, and they are saving 
billions. They are even able to find savings in some of these anti-
American DEI programs.
  Every American should be celebrating this effort that saves them 
money. Government has not one penny to spend until the taxpayer sends 
the money. Every dollar is taxpayer money; it is not Federal money. The 
Federal Government does not create this; it is taxpayer money. So 
taxpayers should be celebrating the elimination of waste, fraud, and 
abuse.
  It is essential that we go through this process, that we right-size 
government, that we utilize technology, and that we ensure that this 
country remains free, independent, sovereign, and solvent. Yet, for 
weeks, we have seen our colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
choose to stand up and attack President Trump's efforts to rein in 
Federal spending and to make government transparent and accountable to 
the people. Again, it is an issue of, who is paying the bill for this? 
It is the American people. And if you are paying the bill, you want to 
know what it is that you are paying for.

  This has been so interesting to me to see my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle object to DOGE and object to saving Federal money, 
object to wise stewardship of Federal resources, and then to attack, 
attack, attack. Many of these attacks are disconnected from reality.
  Recently, the Democrats have landed on a new line, and we have heard 
them repeat this over and over. Now their new line is that Republicans 
and the Trump administration are using DOGE to cut Social Security 
benefits for our Nation's seniors. Well, nothing could be further from 
the truth. It is Republicans and President Trump that are seeking to 
save--to save--Social Security.
  Last month in this very Chamber, the Senate Democratic leader claimed 
that ``the goal of Trump and Elon Musk is to destroy Social Security 
from within.'' Well, nothing could be further from the truth.
  To help our Democrat colleagues to understand this issue, I have 
pulled together a fact sheet that makes one thing clear: While 
eliminating wasteful spending, improper payments, and fraud in the 
system, Republicans are protecting Social Security, Medicare, and 
Medicaid for the beneficiaries for which it is intended.
  See, our colleagues across the aisle have this completely backward, 
and they have been pushing these talking points off to the mainstream 
media, to some of the leftists that are out protesting.
  If you accept the status quo on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social 
Security, basically what you are saying is: Hey, I am OK if you waste 
money. I am OK if you make improper payments. I am OK if you allow 
fraud and deception. I am OK if you let the trust fund run dry. I am OK 
if you cut benefits.
  In essence, that is what they are saying because they are accepting 
the status quo.
  But repeatedly we remind people that it is Republicans who are trying 
to save Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid because we are rooting 
out waste, fraud, abuse, and making certain those benefits should go to 
the people who deserve them.
  But this shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody. We have been 
saying: Let's preserve these programs, and let's make them stronger. 
Let's make certain that scammers and fraudsters don't have access to 
taxpayer money.
  Just last month, the President said:

       I'm not going to touch Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. 
     Now, we're going to get fraud out of there. . . . Everybody 
     wants us to get the fraud out, and therefore you'll make it 
     better.

  That is exactly what we are doing. By eliminating waste and fraud, 
the administration is strengthening these essential programs.
  For example, DOGE confirmed that 1.3 million individuals who secured 
fraudulent Social Security numbers also received Medicare benefits. 
That is stealing money from individuals who are entitled, rightfully, 
to the benefits.
  So if you have 1.3 million individuals who have fraudulent Social 
Security numbers and they have also signed up for Medicare, they should 
be removed from the program because they are not entitled to be on that 
program.
  DOGE also sifted out 10 million cases where Social Security number 
holders were over the age of 120. Now, this should raise alarms. I 
don't know how many--if any--Americans are 120 years of age or older, 
but we do know that there are 10 million cases where there are Social 
Security number holders that are over 120 years old.
  The right thing to do is to find out. If you have people who say they 
are 150, 165, 200 years, even one that is listed as 300 years old, we 
need to be investigating this and find out who is getting the check and 
who is cashing that check because that person is not entitled to that 
check--which, by the way, is paid with taxpayer money.
  When I talk with Tennesseans, they want to make certain that people 
who

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deserve the benefits are getting the benefits and that people who are 
scammers and liars and fraudsters and are ripping off the Federal 
Government, that they get prosecuted for the way they are ripping off 
the Federal Government.
  Now, President Trump is determined to strengthen these programs, and 
Senate Republicans have promised to deliver relief to senior citizens 
by cutting taxes on Social Security benefits.
  Today, nearly 56 percent of retirees pay taxes on their Social 
Security benefits as inflation pushes seniors' benefits into higher and 
higher income brackets. This is inexcusable because people have paid 
into that.
  We had a Lieutenant Governor in Tennessee at one point. He would sum 
this up by saying: No one should ever be paying taxes on taxes.
  People have paid into Social Security, and then, as they retire, they 
are going to get this money back.
  And for the past few years, I have worked on legislation called the 
RETIREES FIRST Act. It would address this problem by lowering the tax 
burden on Social Security benefits for seniors by raising the 
provisional income threshold. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid are 
essential programs for millions of Tennesseans.
  It is appropriate that we exempt out seniors from paying income tax 
on those Social Security benefits. It is appropriate that we make 
certain that these programs are there for the beneficiaries for which 
they are intended. And it is appropriate that we ask our colleagues 
across the aisle to join us in making certain these programs are 
strengthened, not weakened.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.