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The Trump administration has announced the beginning of a planning process to allow for exploration and leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, barreling forward with plans for destructive oil and gas drilling and disregarding the serious biological, cultural and climate impacts fossil fuel extraction will have in the rapidly-warming Arctic. Tomorrow's scheduled notice in the Federal Register will begin a 60-day public comment period.
The Department of the Interior has announced a Notice of Intent to initiate scoping for an Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed lease sale that would target the biologically rich coastal plain, an area of the Refuge the Indigenous Gwich'in people, who have subsisted off the land for millennia, consider sacred. Drilling would also imperil wildlife and harm our climate. Scientists have warned that to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we must keep Arctic fossil fuel reserves in the ground.
The Trump administration's first action to advance drilling in the Arctic Refuge comes only months after oil industry allies in Congress snuck a drilling provision into the unrelated federal tax bill in December. Drilling proponents circumvented normal legislative channels because winning legislative or public support for such a controversial measure in an above-board process would have been otherwise impossible.
A broad coalition of environmental organizations reaffirmed its commitment to stand with the Gwich'in to defend the Arctic Refuge and the wildlife, wilderness, recreational and cultural values it was established to protect.
Statements
"We will continue to stand against any development in the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd. My people have had a cultural and spiritual connection the herd for thousands of years. With climate change hitting Alaska harder than any other place in the world, this is the last thing we need. An Attack on the Arctic Refuge is an attack on the Gwich'in and we will stand strong in unity for our future generations. This is an uphill battle that we are willing to take on because it is tied to the identity of the Gwich'in people," said Bernadette Demientieff, Gwich'in Steering Committee Executive Director.
"Just because those lease sales are opened up doesn't mean they have to be invested in. We must continue to divest from fossil fuels. As stewards of the land since time immemorial, Indigenous people across the Arctic stand in solidarity in opposition to any further development in our ancestral places. We support our Gwich'in brothers and sisters in the fight to the continue the protection of Iizhik Gwats'an Gwandaii Goodlit, The Sacred Place Where Life Begins, for the best interest of everyone in the world, not just ourselves. We know we are all dependent on the land. It provides not only food security, but also has a direct correlation with our cultural identity, our spirituality, and our place in the universe. We're seeing a large misrepresentation of our people through corporate endeavors and would like to remind policy makers and the general public, that what these corporations are saying is from the for-profit, western lifestyle that we have been forced into. This is reality for us. This threatens who we are. This isn't putting up a new store, or investing in the stock market. This is our life. We all have to be good ancestors to our future generations. The land remembers. Our people remember." Native Movement - Alaska Board Members, Arlo Nasruk Davis (Selawik) and Adrienne Aakaluk Titus (Unalakleet)
"When we have an administration using Twitter to fire cabinet secretaries and rewrite plans for the entirety of America's coastline, maybe we shouldn't be surprised at the reckless, warp speed approach it is taking to put oil rigs in one of the most iconic and wildest places left in America," said Adam Kolton, Executive Director at Alaska Wilderness League. "But the Trump administration's secretive work with Senator Murkowski and others to 'aggressively' push for Arctic drilling is a disgrace. Forget minimal effort; they can't even be bothered to fake the effort needed to assess the impacts of leasing on wildlife and the environment or meaningfully consult with the Gwich'in people whose culture is at stake."
"Over the last 14 months we have seen this administration try to cut corners, revoke existing environmental protections, rescind conservation priorities, and overall threaten our public lands. Now, after an already scheming process to get the Arctic Refuge opened in the tax bill, they want to expedite a lease sale in the coastal plain. This is unacceptable. This is the 'sacred place where life begins.' We stand firmly with the Gwich'in Nation to protect the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd and preserve a traditional way of life practiced for millennia," said Lisa Baraff, Program Director, Northern Alaska Environmental Center.
"This is about the Gwich'in people and one of our last, great wild places. But it's also about what our country wants for our future-- a race to the bottom dominated by drilling and greed, or the preservation of life, climate justice and our wild places for future generations. We stand with the Gwich'in Nation as we fight for a better world, starting with safeguarding the Arctic Refuge," said Alli Harvey, Alaska representative for Sierra Club's Our Wild America campaign.
"This Administration is barreling ahead with a fossil fuel extraction plan in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, despite the environmental and human rights implications of industrializing the wild birthing grounds of caribou upon which indigenous Gwich'in have relied for millennia, and the fact that investing in oil development in the Arctic takes us in exactly the wrong direction on combating climate change. Earthjustice stands prepared to uphold bedrock environmental laws that protect the Refuge's values and mount a strong defense of the Arctic Refuge and our climate," said Earthjustice attorney Erik Grafe.
"The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a place of stunning beauty and tremendous biological value, providing vital habitat for caribou, polar bears and hundreds of migratory bird species. Most Americans oppose the Trump administration's headlong rush to drill and desecrate this sacred place, which will inevitably end up in court," said Jenny Keatinge, Senior Federal Lands Policy Analyst at Defenders of Wildlife.
"This administration is recklessly moving to lease the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge, a land sacred to the Gwich'in people and one of the wildest places in our nation. The coastal plain is no place for oil and gas. We'll continue to stand with the Gwich'in and our partners and to use the law to protect this invaluable land," said Brook Brisson, Senior Staff Attorney at Trustees for Alaska.
"This administration is about to sell the Arctic Refuge to the highest bidder and turn one of America's premier bird nurseries into an oilfield. We cannot and will not allow drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Such a disastrous approach to managing our protected public lands threatens birds and robs our kids and grandkids of their natural legacy," said David Yarnold, president and CEO of the National Audubon Society.
"In its rush to drill America's Last Frontier, the Trump Administration is trying to sell leases in the iconic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as fast as they can, with no regard for why the refuge was created in the first place," said Geoffrey Haskett, President of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. "This race to drill flies in the face of the Arctic Refuge's true purposes such as conserving natural diversity and shows the disdain this administration has for the natural world."
"The Trump Administration's frantic scramble to sell oil leases in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a direct threat to the traditional lifestyle of the Gwich'in people and an assault on the wildlife and habitat of America's greatest intact natural heritage," said Dr. David Raskin, President of the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges. "It is a violation of the laws and requirements for management of this iconic refuge that belongs to every American, not just the oil industry and their political supporters."
"Interior's timeline is rash and unrealistic, given the laws and safeguards protecting sensitive public lands and wildlife. NRDC will ensure those protections are not violated with impunity," said Niel Lawrence, Alaska Director and Senior Attorney for the Nature Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"By pushing for a lease sale next year, the administration is admitting that they have no intention of seriously evaluating the negative impacts of oil development on wildlife and these wild lands, which science tells us are significant," said Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society. "The Wilderness Society remains opposed to opening the Arctic Refuge coastal plain to drilling. Local communities and the public's concerns should be fairly considered and addressed. Americans should be outraged at what is being done to the crown jewel of their National Wildlife Refuge System."
"First Republican leaders in Congress snuck a provision to destroy the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge into their disastrous tax bill - which Trump himself admitted they tried to keep secret because selling out one of our most majestic landscapes to the oil industry is deeply unpopular," said Alex Taurel, League of Conservation Voters Deputy Legislative Director. "Now Secretary Zinke is racing to transform this pristine wildlife refuge into an industrial oil field, apparently by waiving environmental review, planning, and local consultation that drilling supporters like Senator Murkowski assured would take place at each step in the process. We will continue to stand with the native Gwich'in people and work to block drilling every step of the way."
"Sinking drills into the refuge will drain the wild Arctic of its lifeblood. The habitat of polar bears, wolves, and caribou can't be trusted to the hands of oil companies," said Miyoko Sakashita, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity.
"Take note of the phrase 'publicly owned.' Because the Arctic Refuge is your Arctic Refuge. This place, called the 'Crown Jewel of the Circumpolar North' is the home and birthing ground for an abundance of wildlife, from polar bears to the massive Porcupine Caribou herd, to the millions of birds that migrate to the Refuge. From six continents their migration connects these ancestral breeding grounds to every person on the planet. To the Gwich'in nation it's a human rights issue. The Gwich'in depend on the caribou for a subsistence way of life. A culture, passed down since time immemorial. They call the Refuge 'The Sacred Place Where Life Begins.' This is your land the oil companies want. It is a land sale. Call / contact your Congress people and tell them NO! NO drilling in our Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," said Carol Hoover, Executive Director of the Eyak Preservation Council.
"Each year, the Porcupine caribou migrate between Alaska and Canada's north. They are one of the last, healthy barren-ground caribou herds left on earth. Disturbing their calving grounds could have a disastrous effect on the health of the herd. This is not just an American issue. It's a deeply Canadian issue. We stand firmly with the Gwich'in as they fight to keep oil and gas development off the land that has sustained them for millennia." said Chris Rider, Executive Director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), Yukon Chapter
Reporter Resources
Memo: Trump administration pursuing overly aggressive timeline for Arctic Refuge drilling
Gwich'in Statement on the release of the Notice of Intent
Media Contacts
Alaska Wilderness League: Corey Himrod, corey@alaskawild.org, 202-266-0426
Audubon: Nicolas Gonzalez, ngonzalez@audubon.org, (212) 979-3100.
Center for Biological Diversity: Steve Jones, sjones@biologicaldiversity.org, 415-305-3866
Defenders of Wildlife: Haley McKey, hmckey@defenders.org, 202-772-0247
Earthjustice: Rebecca Bowe, rbowe@earthjustice.org, 415-217-2093
Eyak Preservation Council: Carol Hoover, carol@redzone.org
Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges: Dr. David Raskin, davidcraskin@gmail.com 425-209-9009
Gwich'in Steering Committee: Bernadette Demientieff, bernademientieff76@gmail.com
League of Conservation Voters: Alyssa Roberts, aroberts@lcv.org, 202-454-4573
National Wildlife Refuge Association: Desiree Sorenson-Groves, dgroves@refugeassociation.org, 202-290-5593
Native Movement: Adrianne Titus, acct.nativemovement@gmail.com, 907-374-5950
Natural Resources Defense Council: Anne Hawke, ahawke@nrdc.org, 202-513-6263
Northern Alaska Environmental Center: Erica Watson, erica@northern.org, 907-452-5093
Sierra Club: Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org, 202-495-3051
Trustees for Alaska: Dawnell Smith, dsmith@trustees.org, 907-433-2013
The Wilderness Society: Tim Woody, tim_woody@tws.org, 907-223-2443
Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society: Adil Darvesh, adarvesh@cpawsyukon.org, 867-393-8080, or alternately 867-332-0310
Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations, coalitions and communities.
800-584-6460"More of this energy from every Democrat please," said one progressive commentator as the New Jersey lawmaker continued to hold the floor of the U.S. Senate with a speech that has lasted more than 20 hours—and counting.
This is a developing news story... Please check back for possible updates.
Answering the voting public's growing call for the Democratic Party to actually stand up to Republicans' sweeping assault on the federal government, led by U.S. President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, Sen. Cory Booker took to the Senate floor at 7:00 pm Eastern Time on Monday and was still speaking as of Tuesday afternoon.
Early in his remarks, Booker (D-N.J.) cited the example of late Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil rights icon who famously declared in 2020, "Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America."
Booker, who ran for president in 2020, explained Monday that he asked himself, "If he's my hero, how am I living up to his words?"
"What's happened in the past 71 days in a patent demonstration of a time where John Lewis' call to everyone has, I think, become more urgent and more pressing," Booker said. "So, tonight, I rise tonight with the intention of getting in some good trouble. I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able."
"I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis—and I believe that not in a partisan sense, because so many of the people that have been reaching out to my office in pain, in fear, having their lives upended, so many of them identify themselves as Republicans," the senator continued.
Booker stressed that "bedrock commitments are being broken, unnecessary hardships are being borne by Americans of all backgrounds, and institutions which are special in America, which are precious, which are unique in our country, are being recklessly and I would say even unconstitutionally affected, attacked, and even shattered."
"In just 71 days, the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans' safety, financial stability, the core foundations of our democracy, and even our aspirations as a people for, from our highest offices, a sense of common decency. These are not normal times in America, and they should not be treated as such," he argued. "I can't allow this body to continue without doing something different, speaking out. The threats to American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more—we all must do more against them."
Booker accused the president of "betraying" America and causing "chaos, instability, and harm" by working to gut a wide range of programs—an effort spearheaded by Trump's Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency—while seeking tax cuts for wealthy people and corporations, which Republicans are trying to push through Congress.
Over several hours, the senator addressed topics such as GOP attacks on healthcare, including efforts to cut Medicaid; attempts to dismantle the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Education; a mass deportation agenda that has swept up immigrants like Kilmar Abrego Garcia; and the administration's "national security policies that are leaving our allies abandoned, our adversaries emboldened, and Americans less safe."
Throughout Booker's many hours standing at the podium—he reportedly had the chair removed to avoid the temptation to sit down—he sporadically yielded for a question from a Democratic colleague while retaining the floor, which gave him opportunities to rest his voice and transition from topic to topic.
As The Associated Pressreported: "Democratic aides watched from the chamber's gallery, and Sen. Chris Murphy accompanied Booker throughout his speech. Murphy was returning the comradeship that Booker had given to him in 2016 when the Connecticut Democrat held the floor for almost 15 hours to argue for gun control legislation."
Other Democrats who asked questions of Booker included Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (Md.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Chris Coons (Del.), Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (N.M.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Patty Murray (Wash.), Alex Padilla (Calif.), Jack Reed (R.I.), Adam Schiff (Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Mark Warner (Va.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Peter Welch (Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), and Ron Wyden (Ore.). Independent Sen. Angus King (Maine), who caucuses with Democrats, also joined in.
Many of them praised Booker's stunt—as did Trump critics across social media, including Democrats in the lower chamber such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), who declared that "this is the kind of relentless resistance our democracy demands."
As of press time, Booker had been speaking for over 20 hours. Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said: "Proud of Cory Booker! It would be poetic justice if he beats Strom Thurmond's record of speaking 24 hours and 18 minutes to block the 1957 Civil Rights Act. Yes, the longest filibuster in our nation's history was to block civil rights."
Booker's move came amid calls for Schumer to step down as minority leader after caving to Republicans during the latest government shutdown crisis, and as polling shows that a large majority of registered Democrats and Independent voters who lean Democratic are frustrated with the party for not effectively fighting Trump and supporting working poeple.
Sharing the livestream on social media Tuesday, the American Federation of Teachers said: "Sen. Booker has been standing on the Senate floor since last night, speaking powerfully on behalf of families and our nation. Thank you for your unwavering leadership, Sen. Booker."
Matt Royer of Young Democrats of America asserted that what Booker "is doing is heroic and courageous and exactly what we're looking for from Washington during this time. If you are not following along with this and why he is doing it, you absolutely should."
Podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen similarly pleaded, "More of this energy from every Democrat please."
"There is no way this makes Americans healthier."
HIV prevention. Anti-tobacco advocacy. The safety of mining workers.
All are among the health priorities that evidently have no place in U.S. President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's vision to "Make America Healthy Again," following the mass firing of 10,000 people at the nation's top health agencies on Tuesday.
The layoffs hit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with some staffers informed of their dismissal after they arrived at work—only to be told to return home.
Kayla Tausche at CNN reported that laid off employees at the HHS building in Rockville, Maryland were forced to do a "walk of shame" past dozens of their former colleagues who were lined up outside the building, waiting to learn their own fate.
The employees who were laid off Monday evening into Tuesday are the latest of more than 100,000 federal workers who have lost their jobs since Trump took office and placed billionaire tech mogul and megadonor Elon Musk at the help of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Last week, Kennedy said the federal health agency workforce would be reduced from about 82,000 to 62,000 people, with the restructuring making room for what he called "the Administration for a Healthy America" at HHS.
"We're going to do more with less," said the secretary, who has expressed skepticism about the scientifically proven benefits of vaccinations and claimed without evidence that the rate of chronic disease rose over the four years that former President Joe Biden was in the White House.
Kennedy said last week that communications for the health agencies would be brought under his control in the "restructuring," and many of the layoffs impacted people responsible for relaying information to the public.
Twenty people who handle public communications for one National Institutes of Health (NIH) program analyzing the genes of volunteers for health research were among those placed on administrative leave Tuesday—a precursor to being laid off, one official toldUSA Today.
The FDA's Office of Media Affairs was also disbanded, as well as most of the 50-person communications team for the agency's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, which manages information on drug approvals, shortages, and potential risks.
"The general public likely won't feel the results of these HHS layoffs immediately," said Larry Levitt, executive vice president of KFF. "But eventually, these layoffs will affect the health information available to people, access to care and prevention, and oversight of health and social services."
Other impacted employees include those in internal agencies focused on the health of senior citizens, people with disabilities, and minority communities, and workers studying asthma, lead poisoning, radiation damage, and the health effects of extreme heat and wildfires.
The administration appeared to see HIV prevention as a key target, placing the director of the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention on administrative leave and dismantling teams that do HIV research and surveillance.
Despite his claims last week about wanting to fight chronic disease, Kennedy did not outline plans to better equip the federal government to fight heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. At the CDC, The New York Times reported Tuesday, "entire departments studying chronic diseases and environmental problems were cut."
In a post on LinkedIn on Tuesday, former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, who served under Biden and former President Barack Obama, said the agency "as we've known it is finished" and warned the federal government was losing critical institutional knowledge by firing thousands of people.
"I believe that history will see this [as] a huge mistake," said Califf. "I will be glad if I'm proven wrong, but even then there is no good reason to treat people this way. It will be interesting to hear from the new leadership how they plan to put 'Humpty Dumpty' back together again."
Journalist Sam Stein of The Bulwarkcalled the mass firings "an absolute bloodbath" with a "generation of scientists, healthcare officials being wiped out."
Brown University professor Dr. Craig Spencer said the country "will regret this."
"These are the people who make sure the medications you and your children take are safe. These are the people who perform and oversee research on cancer, infant health, and so, so, so much more. These are the people who make sure new devices that physicians and patients use are effective," said Spencer. "And now, thousands of them are gone. There is no way this makes Americans healthier."
"Instead of focusing on delivering benefits to seniors and people with disabilities, President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk are systematically dismantling SSA."
As the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday prepared to advance Frank Bisignano, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for Social Security Administration commissioner, a report from the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders warned that the number of people who will die waiting for benefits could more than double under a plan by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to slash SSA staffing by up to 50%.
"Social Security is the most successful government program in our nation's history. For more than 86 years, through good times and bad, Social Security has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible American on time and without delay," states the report from Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking member on the Senate Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy.
"Social Security is the most successful government program in our nation's history."
Noting that "Social Security lifts roughly 27 million Americans out of poverty each and every year," the publication asserts that "at a time of massive wealth inequality, our job must be to expand and strengthen Social Security. Yet, instead of focusing on delivering benefits to seniors and people with disabilities, President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk are systematically dismantling SSA."
"Roughly 3,000 employees have already been terminated or accepted voluntary separations from SSA. [Trump and Musk] have made unsubstantiated claims that there is massive fraud in the program and are proposing reckless cuts to SSA's workforce upward of 7,000 workers," the report continues. "In March 2025, former Commissioner of Social Security Martin O'Malley stated that due to the efforts of Elon Musk and DOGE, Americans could 'see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits' in "the next 30 to 90 days."
According to Sanders' report, "average wait times for Social Security disability benefits will double, and—more startlingly—the number of people who will die waiting for benefits will double to roughly 67,000 Americans" under DOGE-proposed cuts to SSA's workforce.
Musk has zeroed in on both Social Security benefits and staffing under the guise of reducing "waste and fraud" in "entitlement spending" on social safety net programs. In addition to proposing the elimination of up to 50% of SSA's workforce, the world's richest person has said that up to $700 billion could be cut from programs including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
"If SSA cuts 50% of employees making disability determinations, this will result in a 412-day wait for an initial decision" on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims, the Sanders report states.
The publication cites the case of Sheryl, a disabled California woman:
Right now I'm waiting for approval from SSDI and getting feedback from my private long-term disability insurance company that they want to try to send me back to work, while I have 13 doctors overseeing my care. If I succeed in convincing these heartless vultures that I'm disabled enough to rest, I will continue to worry that my fixed income will go less and less toward being able to live. If I don't, I will be put in a position to ignore my health and go back to work long enough to kill myself and leave my kids with no one. Welcome to America! One thing that would relieve a lot of stress is getting an approval... so that I know what my income will be and not have to worry that I'll end up in an economic landslide into the abyss.
Musk recently referred to Social Security as "the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time," echoing Trump's claim that the vital lifeline is a "scam" and adding to a long list of lies about social safety net programs.
"President Trump and Elon Musk have suggested that 'millions and millions' of dead people receive Social Security checks. That is an outrageous lie designed to undermine Americans' faith in Social Security," Sanders said on Tuesday. "Here's the truth: 30,000 people die a year waiting for an understaffed Social Security to approve disability benefits. The Trump-Musk plan to cut Social Security's staff by up to 50% will make this tragic reality even worse, and Frank Bisignano is there to see it through. We cannot let that happen."
Critics say Trump's nomination of Bisignano, a financial services executive with a private sector reputation as an aggressive cost-cutter, belies the president's claim that he is "not touching" Social Security. Senate Democrats have urged Trump to rescind Bisignano's nomination, pointing to his alleged lies under oath regarding improper contact with SSA and DOGE officials and fears over the administration's suspected privatization agenda.
"Putting Bisignano as head of Social Security is hiring an arsonist to run the fire station, plain and simple," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said ahead of Tuesday's vote.
"I knew [Frank Bisignano] when he was a businessman in New York. Businesses would bring him on board if they wanted to cut, cut, cut. Putting Bisignano as head of Social Security is hiring an arsonist to run the fire station, plain and simple." - @schumer.senate.gov
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— Social Security Works (@socialsecurityworks.org) April 1, 2025 at 8:40 AM
The Sanders report says that "the bottom line is this: Social Security belongs to the people who worked hard all their lives to earn their benefit. This is a program based on a promise—if you pay in, then you earn the right to guaranteed benefits. We cannot allow this promise to be broken."
In order to keep that promise, the report recommends actions including:
"Instead of slashing Social Security's staff, closing down Social Security field offices, we should be making it easier, not harder, for seniors and people with disabilities to receive the Social Security benefits that they have earned and deserve," Sanders said Tuesday.
In a bid to "fight back" against the Trump administration's attacks, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) on Tuesday launched a "Social Security War Room."
Warren's office said the initiative will "focus on coordinating messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encouraging grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educating Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans' agenda, and their continued cuts to service and benefits."
"Senate Democrats are united in saying: Trump and Elon, get your hands off our Social Security," Warren said in a statement ahead of a Tuesday press conference. "We're fighting back on behalf of every single senior, every single parent of a kid with a disability supported by Social Security, every single person currently paying into the program for later down the line, and every American who cares that seniors can retire with dignity."