The Hill News

With the debate over federal entitlement programs expected to intensify in the coming weeks, Congress needs to keep in mind how cuts in Social Security would affect American families. Not just a retirement program, Social Security provides essential protections for people of all ages, like Chicago native Beth Finke.

Beth was only 3 when her father died. Without the survivor benefits that her mother received for Beth and her brothers and sisters, making ends meet would have been impossible. Social Security kept her family afloat â€" and later, a Social Security student benefit made it possible for Beth to go to college.

Beth is paying back now. Even after losing her sight in her 20s, her education enabled her to support herself as an adult. She works and contributes to Social Security with deductions from every paycheck.

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