VERIFY: Did Joe Biden vote to tax social security benefits twice during his Senate career?

The Verify Team was sent an email, in which a viewer claimed that Joe Biden voted to tax social security benefits two times in his career. This is true.

[dmkirk]

You all can try to explain but the Fact Remains Joe Did!!

[FerallHog]

Let’s give $ Billions to ukraine, and Illegal Birder Crossers, while continuing to tax our retired seniors. Sounds great. Thanks Joe.

[cindyshoemake]

You do pay twice in taxes once in your paycheck then again when you claim social security.

[krillin]

Actual context: tax corporate profits and the wealthy and we can pay for anything. Taxing benefit recipients is downright evil.

[matt]

Why pay off student loans when they could dump that money into the social security fund?!?!?!

[researchplease]

$25, 000 is below the poverty line. you just made Biden look worse 😂😂😂

[buckeyemom]

There is no Social Security "trust fund".

[Artchick]

He voted four times to get rid of it. He said it himself

[jasonjay]

If this was about Trump, there would be not "but" or needing to add context. People are starting to see thought the fake media.

[rpucheu]

And you can bet that money doesn't go to the social security system.

[SG-rvjo]

Originally, earners with low income not higher than the base limit of contributions for FICA paid FICA based on their actual income. Those whose income are higher than the base have contributed based on their income up to that base or limit. The excess of their income over the base was free from FICA. So the base determined the maximum SS benefits at retirement. Then, there was an increase in the base for FICA, but still high income earners had income still free from FICA. Needless to say, the range of SS benefits has become significant. Those SS recipients with low total income had nontaxable SS benefits, but SS recipients with total income more than $25K had the excess used to determine how much of their SS benefits would be taxable. So, their SS could be partly or fully taxable depending on their income from other sources. What could be a progressive SS plan is to have no limit on wages subject to FICA but have maximum SS benefits and have SS benefits fully taxable for those with total income above established level that is above poverty level and totally nontaxable if total income is below poverty plus level, and maybe there should be a n equivalent of tax refund to bring up the taxpayer's income to poverty plus level. So Biden's plan could be at the time an equitable and workable alternative to the anemic SS funding. But now, the present plan ought to be revisited for improvement.

[travisrickard]

Don’t they take money out of social security for little projects that has nothing to do with the working men or woman who pays it in to get it back when they retire they always saying it is about to go broke just trying to say use it like it was meant to be

[zipakna]

so, joe wanted to fund social security, by taxing social security.

[douglasbenson]

They need the money or social security will collapse.