Biden Highlights Social Security in Post-Presidential Speech

It was Biden’s first major speech since leaving office.

Former President Joe Biden homed in on Social Security in remarks at the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) conference on April 15. It was his first major speech since leaving office.

While President Donald Trump ran on protecting Social Security, Biden sought to take up the mantle of Social Security’s defender on stage in Chicago.

He said the new administration had learned the mantra, “Move fast and break things,” from the world of tech.

“They’re certainly breaking things,” he said. He drew attention to a recent outage on the webpage for the Social Security Administration (SSA).

A March 11 fact check from the Trump administration states that it “will not cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits,” citing repeated pledges from Trump himself.

Biden’s post-presidential remarks come amid staffing cuts at the SSA. A disability rights group sued the SSA, DOGE, and Musk earlier this month over the mass layoffs, saying they ran afoul of the Constitution.

The speech also follows the passage of a budget reconciliation blueprint by House and Senate Republicans, a key step in advancing a budget for fiscal year 2025, and a flash point as the Trump administration and Republicans battle accusations of large-scale cuts to social services.

The House version of the bill instructs the Energy and Commerce Committee—which has jurisdiction over Medicaid and other programs—to cut $880 billion. That has spurred concerns that Medicaid could lose funding.

“What are the two big pots of money out there? In raw numbers, Social Security and Medicaid,” Biden said.

Biden was introduced by former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who led the SSA for part of the Biden administration.

The former president also praised his administration’s record with Social Security, citing major decreases in SSA telephone wait times and passage of the Social Security Fairness Act in early January. The act eliminated a provision that decreased Social Security benefits for public employees whose jobs did not require them to pay Social Security taxes.

“Social Security is more than a government program. It’s a sacred promise,” the former president said.

He also spoke about the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which he cosponsored while a senator from Delaware, along with many other senators from both parties. President George H.W. Bush signed the bill into law.

Many disabled Americans receive payments through Social Security Disability Insurance, which is distinct from the ADA.

Biden called the ADA “one of the most consequential civil rights laws in American history.”

Both the ADA and Social Security, he said, were key to Americans’ dignity.