News · Press Release

On Social Security’s 91st Anniversary, Derrick Van Orden Is Still Plotting To Privatize It

After promising to protect Social Security, Van Orden voted for a “backdoor” scheme to privatize this vital program

For nearly a century, Social Security has been the ticket to financial security for millions of Wisconsinites who have worked hard to retire with grace and dignity.

But Derrick Van Orden and D.C. Republicans are hellbent on destroying it at the behest of billionaires. 

A recap of Van Orden and the Administration’s actions to date:

  • Van Orden voted for the Big, Ugly Law, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted was a “backdoor for privatizing Social Security.”
  • Van Orden fully submitted to Elon Musk’s plan to gut the agency, which cut phone lines, fired staff, and laid off workers through his cruel DOGE effort. To date, Social Security offices have lost an estimated 20% of staff.
  • The Administration rolled out a proposal to cut disability benefits to recipients.
  • According to the Chief Actuary, the Social Security trust fund is predicted to run out of money faster than previous estimates because of the The Big, Ugly Law.

Social Security By The Numbers:

  • 1,398,745 Wisconsinites receive Social Security.
  • 105,553 Wisconsinites receive Supplemental Security Income (disability benefits).
  • 63% of retirees rely on Social Security for at least half of their income.
  • Social Security lifts more than 333,000 Wisconsin seniors out of poverty.
  • 79% say Social Security earned benefits shouldn’t be reduced in any way.

DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene:
“Social Security has been a pillar of America’s middle class and represents one of the most singularly successful programs in our nation’s history. It is based on a basic American value: If you work hard, you should be able to earn enough to retire with dignity and peace of mind. Derrick Van Orden abandoned those values by backing extreme right-wing efforts to privatize Social Security, gut benefits, and give away billions to his Wall Street backers. Van Orden’s attempts to privatize Social Security are just his latest broken promise to the American people — and it’s why he will lose in November.”

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