{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://nadler.house.gov/press-release/social-security-healthy-doesn%E2%80%99t-increase-federal-deficit", "Social Security is Healthy, Doesn\u2019t Increase Federal Deficit", "2013-12-06", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Jerrold Nadler", "N000002", "nadler.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) released the following statement on the state of America\u2019s Social Security program:\n\u201cSocial Security is one of the bedrocks of America\u2019s middle class. It is an essential safety net for millions of our nation\u2019s seniors and their families who rely on this program for their basic necessities.\n\u201cSocial Security is a self-financed program and does not contribute to the federal deficit.\u00a0Its current funding is not only sufficient to pay all costs, but to add to a surplus trust fund.\u00a0According to a recent report by the Social Security Board of Trustees, asset reserves of the Social Security Trust Funds increased by $54 billion in 2012, bringing the total amount of its funds to $2.73 trillion.\u00a0In short, Social Security is healthy and, if anything, its benefits should be expanded.\n\u201cThe so-called reform efforts stubbornly pushed by Republicans \u2013 and unfortunately some centrist Democrats \u2013 are really nothing more than a means of cutting Social Security benefits and shifting costs gradually onto seniors and the disabled.\n\u201cDemocrats and progressives should be concentrating on celebrating and expanding one of the greatest domestic programs in our nation\u2019s history, not allying with conservatives who have the sole goal of dismantling Social Security benefits as we know it.\u201d\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://nadler.house.gov/press-release/social-security-healthy-doesn%E2%80%99t-increase-federal-deficit"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8332270663231611, "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"}