75 years ago this week President Franklin Roosevelt signed one of, if not the most, important pieces of legislation this country has ever seen: The Social Security Act.

In the decades since it’s passage, Social Security has become a cornerstone of financial security for elderly and disabled Americans. Today only half of American workers have access to a retirement plan through their employer and even then, as we have unfortunately witnessed, those who invest in their retirements can still have to rely on Social Security through times of economic hardship.

Even today, it’s clear that Social Security must be protected for future generations of Iowans.

While Republicans like Chuck Grassley and Steve King have promoted risky, Bush-era privatization plans for Social Security, Democratic leaders like President Obama have fought to keep their commitment to millions of Americans reaching retirement age. Democrats realize that all Americans, not just those who can afford it, deserve to retire with dignity and security.

Watch President Roosevelt’s speech after signing the Social Security Act on August 14th, 1935.