Thousand Oaks, CA – Yesterday, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26) held a press conference outside the Thousand Oaks Social Security office to denounce the dangerous and ongoing attacks on Social Security by Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are trying to dismantle Social Security from the inside out — and they are using their so-called ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ to do it,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “They have already fired 7,000 Social Security workers – the biggest single cut in the program’s history. They are shutting down offices and crashing the Social Security website. And when seniors and people with disabilities face issues with their benefits, they’re telling them to just go online. But let me be crystal clear: When you make it harder to access earned benefits, that’s a cut. And we won’t stand for it.”
“More than 70 million Americans – including over 136,000 right here in Ventura County and the Conejo Valley – rely on Social Security every single day. It’s how people pay rent. It’s how they buy groceries. It’s how they get their prescriptions and stay afloat. Without Social Security, one in three Americans would be pushed into poverty.”
“This program is not a handout. It’s a lifeline. And it works. So why are they trying to destroy it? Because they don’t believe in the promise. They don’t believe in the people. And they don’t believe in our democracy. But we do. We’re fighting for what’s right. We’re fighting for the people who built this country. We’re fighting for our democracy – and we’re fighting for the promise of Social Security.”
Congresswoman Brownley’s prepared remarks can be found here.
Photos from the press conference can be found here.
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Issues: 119th Congress, Seniors' Issues