courtney.r. courtney: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to begin by thanking my colleague, congressman john larson, for his thoughtful, courageous leadership on this issue, crafting social security 2100 which is the only comprehensive, paid-for measure which enhances social security and averts the 2034 cliff that this country is going to encounter if congress does not act. as mr. larson stated, when this social insurance program was created in 1935, signed into law by franklin roosevelt, it was created as an insurance program, but congress over time has renormed bill to protect the basic promise which was made by the congress and by president roosevelt, to make sure that people who are retired, people who are -- children who have lost a parent, in recent times people with disability, are protected from the vagaries of life. again, we have stepped forward and taken care of challenge, fiscal challenges, that the bill has encountered, the law has encountered. john's bill, what it would do in essence