Statement About Passage by the House of the Social Security Amendments of 1970

YESTERDAY the House of Representatives passed a bill that is a major milestone on the road to reform of the social security system. This is the bill that would tie social security payments to the cost of living and thus protect them from the uncertainties of politics and shifts of the economy once and for all. I want to thank the Members of the House who voted to approve this proposal, which I have been urging since my campaign of 1968.

People receiving social security benefits have been among those hardest hit by a 5-year inflation of their cost of living. This reform would give them the peace of mind that comes from the certainty that the purchasing power of their benefit checks will not be eroded.

The bill passed by the House would provide a 5 percent rise in social security payments beginning the first of next year, financed by the social security system itself. I urge the Senate to approve this legislation, which is both fiscally sound and urgently needed to help the elderly and the disabled and their dependents make ends meet.