Rep. John Larson (D-CT) joined "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss his concerns with Elon Musk's Social Security involvement.
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NewsTranscript
00:00members of Congress when it comes to Social Security. In fact, you and I had a 30-minute
00:04discussion on it just last year. This week, you were pretty passionate during a House Ways and
00:09Means Committee hearing on the subject. You introduced a resolution of inquiry into what
00:14you called the, quote, hostile takeover of Social Security by President Trump and Elon Musk.
00:19And you accused Elon Musk of, quote, taking a wrecking ball to the Social Security Administration.
00:24So to start off the conversation, can you talk to us about your concerns?
00:28Absolutely. As you know, Brittany, there's more than 70 million Americans that are on Social
00:35Security. And for the most part, people have a tendency to think that Social Security is just
00:40pensions. But it's not. It's not only pensions. It also takes care of spouses, dependents,
00:49widows, and also disability. In fact, provides more disability coverage for veterans than the VA.
00:58So it is the genius of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that came up with a safety net
01:05for entrepreneurialism and capitalism to protect citizens by allowing them to invest.
01:14This is not, as Mr. Musk calls it, an entitlement. This is a benefit that people have paid for.
01:22And all one has to do is look on their pay stub to find that out. And on that pay stub, it says
01:29FICA. That stands for Federal Insurance Contribution. Who's? Yours. And so it is not
01:41an entitlement. This is an insurance plan that has been paid for and entrusted with the government
01:48so it can give you a return in your retirement or, if needed before then, in the case of death
01:59for a spousal or dependent coverage or disability. All of which has made it the number one
02:08insurance plan for the program. And by that, I mean this. It's the number one anti-poverty
02:14program for the elderly of this nation and the number one anti-poverty program for children
02:22of this country. And so to go in there with a wrecking ball, with the idea that they are going to
02:32dismiss and close regional offices and fire people, including inspector generals,
02:41is just absurd. And even more absurd is if you're doing that, you have a responsibility to come
02:49before Congress and explain what you're up to, why you need access to these private documents,
03:00and what is your goal and what is your intent here. And of course, as you know, Mr. Musk now
03:06has been on TV several times just last weekend calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme and the
03:15president calling it a scam. And the Republicans in the committee keep on saying, oh no, President
03:21Trump isn't going to touch Social Security. They're not going to be doing anything doing it.
03:25In the middle of the hearing yesterday, the Doge came out saying they're going to stop
03:34and they're going to try to eliminate the use of phoning into agencies. They're out to dismantle
03:45the Social Security administration. And there's a responsibility here, first and foremost,
03:50on the Republicans in Congress to call a hearing on this, as we have requested and asked for,
03:58and to bring them before the Congress in a public hearing under oath and answer that
04:08what they need this information for and what their goals are here. And if, as our colleagues claim,
04:15they're not there to privatize it, well then let's put them under oath and have them swear to it,
04:21because that's not what they've said on TV.
04:24I know older people. I mean, personally, my grandfather didn't have the Internet. He didn't
04:28have a smartphone, so he would just have to use the phone. And I know he wasn't in the only he's
04:33not the only senior citizen in that boat where there would be older people who rely on the phone.
04:37So that's one issue. Another issue is you're asking, where's Elon Musk? There was a viral
04:42moment of you in this House Ways and Means Committee asking, where's Elon Musk? You said
04:47he's going to privatize Social Security. He's calling it an entitlement. In our conversation
04:52last year, on the House floor many times, you have said Social Security is not an entitlement.
04:57It's an earned benefit. So talk to us about why you were just so passionate in that hearing.
05:04Well, because first and foremost, 70 million Americans rely on Social Security. Now of those
05:1270 million, 40 percent of those, Social Security is the only thing they have.
05:22Who do they have speaking for them in the United States Congress? Who will speak out on their
05:30behalf as this administration seeks to go out and disassemble the Social Security administration
05:40and doing so weaken it, prevent people from having access and getting timely service,
05:47and then arrive at the conclusion that, well, Social Security isn't working, so we're going to
05:54have to privatize it. So if they're saying that's not our intent, well, they're saying,
06:01well, that's fine. If that's not your intent, you have no problem then coming before the committee
06:06and answering questions under oath. And what riled me the most, of course, were the empty
06:12seats that were there, that somehow Elon Musk, because he's a billionaire, is above the law
06:20and doesn't have to answer to the United States Congress or the American people. That's flat out
06:27wrong. And I think every American citizen knows it as well. And there's no special protection
06:34that the president can provide him from actually coming before Congress
06:42and telling the truth about his intent. During that hearing, you accused Republicans to their
06:48faces of doing whatever Elon Musk and President Trump want them to do. I'm curious, in your
06:54private conversations, do they share your concerns about Social Security, about Elon Musk, about
07:00Doge? Because in my conversations with Republican lawmakers, when I say, hey, is Social Security on
07:06the chopping block? You keep publicly saying no, but is it? They're saying things like,
07:10let Elon Musk look into the look into it and see what happens. But I'm not. Social
07:16Security will be saved. There's just a lot of fraud there. They've been told not to say anything.
07:25And so they're claiming that, well, you know, what's wrong about looking for fraud,
07:33abuse and waste? There's nothing wrong with that. No Democrat has said there is. In fact,
07:39if there is fraud, abuse or waste, we'll join with them in finding it and routing it out because
07:45there's no place for it in government. But that's not the issue here. They're claiming that that's
07:52what their goal is. And our response is, if that's your goal, don't you think the American public
07:59and certainly the fourth estate and the media would be interested in it as well? And so why
08:04is there this great secret? Well, could it be because you're not telling the truth? As Rich
08:10Neal said yesterday, can we at least agree that no one 350 years old is receiving a Social Security
08:17check? And it was ironic, but meant to be so because of the absurdity and how much pushback
08:26they've gotten on their misinformation. And then Elon Musk was on TV saying, oh, yeah,
08:32Social Security is the plan in which Democrats use to entice illegal immigrants into the country
08:43with the promise that they're going to give them Social Security. Again, a bold face lie that if
08:52he believes that and has proof, well, by all means, let's put him under oath and have that.
08:58And let's see the facts that he has to substantiate it, because so far they've made an awful lot of
09:06outlandish claims that are not backed by facts. And that's substantiated by the Wall Street
09:13Journal, the New York Times, many media outlets, and even the acting commissioner that was hand
09:21appointed by Donald Trump has said. This is not true, and Doge does not understand
09:30what it's doing to the operation. I think they do understand. Their goal isn't fraud or abuse
09:37or waste. Their goal is to dismantle it and privatize it and say it doesn't work and say
09:44it's ineffective. Tell the big lie. And then say to the American people, that's why we need to
09:51privatize it.