{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://estes.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=7226", "Estes Op-ed Celebrates 90 Years of Social Security and Explores How to Strengthen the Agency", "2025-10-01", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "House", "KS", "Ron Estes", "E000298", "estes.house.gov", "estes", "https://estes.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "U.S. Congressman Ron Estes (R-Kansas) published an op-ed in the Washington Examiner about the 90th anniversary of Social Security, implementing the Social Security Fairness Act, and how to improve this vital program.\n\nRead the op-ed here or below.\n\nFixing Social Security: From Fairness Act to Faster Benefits\n\nThe United States observed the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act in August. This monumental piece of legislation has provided a supplemental income to retirees in America for decades. Millions of Americans have paid into the system their entire working lives and received the benefits they earned. As Chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee on the House Ways and Means Committee, I\u2019m committed to protecting and strengthening one of America\u2019s most vital programs for future generations. President Donald Trump shares my commitment.\n\nI know how Social Security has provided a lifeline of economic security to millions of hardworking retirees, disabled workers, and their families \u2013 folks in Kansas and across the nation. President Trump does too. He shared his commitment to America to continue \u201cdefending Social Security\u201d and \u201ctaking care of our own workers, families, seniors and citizens first.\u201d\n\nLast year, Congress passed the Social Security Fairness Act which fixes a loophole that prevented police officers, firefighters and teachers from receiving their full Social Security benefits. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration began paying Social Security beneficiaries the retroactive payments they were owed ahead of schedule, after Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri) and I urged the administration to implement the Social Security Fairness Act.\n\nFurthermore, the Trump administration is making sure the Social Security Administration (SSA) is working efficiently to provide the people with the benefits they deserve. Implementing the Social Security Fairness Act was a great start.\n\nSince then, SSA customer service assistance has increased handling calls, lowered the phone call wait time, decreased field office wait times, all while increasing scheduled appointments compared to last year under the Biden administration. There is still much work to do \u2013 as my office in Wichita continues to assist Kansans with Social Security cases \u2013 but this is moving in a positive direction.\n\nWe need to do all we can to administer Social Security benefits in the most efficient manner possible, because the program is quickly going insolvent. There are not enough workers paying into the system to support retirees.\n\nIn June, the Social Security Board of Trustees released its 2025 report, which confirmed the concern of insolvency that I\u2019ve been worried about for years. Republicans and Democrats in Congress need to work together in a bipartisan manner to address these issues together for the benefit of everyone.\n\nIn September, I had the chance to meet with SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano in my district in Kansas. We toured the Social Security field office in Wichita and discussed the need for customer service improvements. We agreed there are ways for Congress and the SSA to work together to enhance services and protect benefits for Kansans and all Americans.\n\nMy colleagues and I must work together to keep the benefits efficiently and correctly disbursed and the Social Security program functional. As Chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee, I promise to keep fighting for Americans \u2013 like the ones in my district in Kansas \u2013 who rely on Social Security benefits today and in the future.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T15:10:06Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://estes.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=7226"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8826770354062319, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}