To the editor:

In August, the nation celebrates the 85th birthday of Social Security, an economic lifeline for millions of Americans. On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. The act established several benefit programs: unemployment insurance, retirement benefits and programs for children and the disabled.

Elise Stefanik and Brandon Williams, congressional reps of NY-21 and NY-22, are members of the Republican Study Committee that developed and approved the Republican budget for the upcoming 2025 fiscal year. This budget, a roadmap of priorities, includes raising the retirement age to 70. By forcing Americans to work longer, their budget would cut Social Security benefits for 257 million people, or three in four Americans. By approving and accepting this budget they seek to make drastic changes to Social Security, changes that will affect seniors in central New York, the Mohawk Valley and the North Country.

My mother taught me that actions speak louder than words. I hope my fellow seniors and their loved ones believe it, too. Both Stefanik and Williams are hiding their true ambition to cut Social Security with lies. They know it is an unpopular political position. Believe their action — supporting cuts in the Republican Study Committee budget blueprint — over what they say.

Better yet, rescind their power to hurt all of us by voting them out of Congress on Nov. 5. No matter what kind of voter you are, in this instance, vote to protect your earned retirement by voting for Democrats.

Regina Kekis

Rome