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Republican Study Committee, Social Security and Medicare

Published in RINewsToday on July 3, 2023

Last month, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) unveiled its 167-page FY 2024 “Protecting America’s Economic Security” budget proposal which calls for balancing the federal budget in seven years, slashes $16.3 trillion in wasteful government spending over ten years, and cuts $5.1 trillion in taxes. During the 118th Congress (2023 to 2024), 175 House Republican lawmakers from 38 states are RSC members. With over 70 percent of the House Republicans belonging to the RSC, the release of the proposed budget is a dependable indicator of where the chamber’s caucus stands on key legislative priorities.

The RSC annually releases its own budget proposal for the next fiscal year during the time when both House and Senate Budget Committees prepare official budget resolutions. The fiscal blueprint provides the House Republican Caucus with an opportunity to detail its wish list of spending priorities and also provides its position on social issues.

RSC’s FY 2024 budget, released on June 14, 2023, is made up of 220 individual legislative proposals and initiatives received from its members. Reflecting GOP values, the proposed budget would eliminate most funding for new abortion policies, Critical Race Theory, and “gender politics” initiatives, while ensuring adequate funding for the military, continued construction of a Southern border wall; rolling back “climate change” programs, and eliminating increases in funding for the IRS. It would also make 2017 tax cuts permanent as its provisions are starting to expire soon, and ensuring the nation’s energy independence; providing tax benefits to promote R&D: restricting free meals for students, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, with the possibility of work/volunteer requirements.  

Aging groups are concerned that the RSC budget also takes aim at Social Security and Medicare programs. During 2023, the annual Social Security trust fund report warned that the program will only be able to continue paying out full benefits through 2034. The Medicare trust fund also reported that it could run low on funds by 2028, two years later than reported last year. While the Democratic platform seeks to raise caps on some programs to address this, the RSC’s budget proposal floated additional policies to financially fix these programs.

The RSC budget proposes “modest changes” to benefits for those who are not near full retirement age. For future retirees, it calls for raising the full retirement age (taking into account for increases in life expectancy) from age 67 to age 69 for those who turn 63 in 2033. It would also reduce benefits for future beneficiaries who earned a “higher salary” before retirement. Also, only “modest adjustments” to the Social Security program as it operates would be made but it doesn’t clarify the changes.   

As to Medicare, the RSC budget calls for requiring disabled people to wait longer before they can receive Medicare benefits. It pushes for turning Medicare into a “premium support system,” where seniors would receive a subsidy to be used to purchase private health plans competing against traditional Medicare.

Point/Counter Point

With the release of RSC’s budget, House lawmakers, the White House, and aging groups quickly issued statements touting their own positions. 

RSC’s Chairman Kevin Hern (R-Ok) noted the GOP’s conservative values could be found on every page of the budget blueprint. “Our budget proves that fiscal responsibility is the only way to lower inflation, grow the economy, cut federal spending, empower taxpayers, and protect small businesses. Congress controls the purse strings, but we, the House, has failed to produce a budget year after year after year. Everyone has to balance their budget – governors, mayors, businesses, families – but not Congress. Nearly every problem facing our government can be traced back to our failure to both pass a budget and stick to it. The Republican Study Committee has a budget, and it balances in just seven years. Our budget is real, and it’s floor-ready. It’s time to get our country back on track,” he said.

“For too long, irresponsible spending habits in Washington have made the cost-of-living more expensive for hardworking American families, and they are fed up with business-as-usual. The RSC budget prioritizes smart, common-sense policy to empower the American worker, and it cuts back on wasteful spending to pay for what’s important – just like families have to do every day. We are committed to protecting our country’s economic security and restoring fiscal sanity to our Nation’s finances,” says RSC Budget and Spending Task Force Ben Cline (R-VA).

On the other hand, Pennsylvania Congressman Brendan F. Boyle, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, gives the RSC the thumbs down: “This budget stands in stark contrast to the positive, hopeful vision put forward by President Biden and supported by House Democrats: a government that works for working families, an economy where the ultra-rich pay their fair share, and a country where everyone has the freedom to retire with dignity. I look forward to working with President Biden and Congressional Democrats to ensure House Republicans’ bleak vision for America does not become our reality.”

Social Security and Medicare

Social Security advocacy groups warn that the programs proposed by the RSC would slash the nation’s safety net programs, like Social Security and Medicare.

“This budget would destroy Social Security as we know it. It would raise the retirement age and slash middle class benefits. These changes would transform Social Security from an earned insurance benefit, which replaces wages lost in old age, disability, or death, into a subsistence-level welfare benefit,” warns Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works.

“The budget fearmongers about Social Security’s modest shortfall (still a decade away) rules out any options for raising revenue, such as requiring billionaires to contribute more. That leaves benefit cuts as the only “solution.” In other words, they want to cut benefits now to avoid cutting them later, which isn’t a solution at all. Indeed, the budget will increase the number of workers who will have no ability to retire while maintaining their standard of living,” says Altman.

“A particularly cruel provision would force disability beneficiaries to wait five long years (instead of the current two, which is already too long) before becoming eligible for Medicare benefits. Outrageously, this change would deprive some of the most medically vulnerable people in America of health care. This provision alone would inevitably lead to more medical bankruptcies and increased homelessness,” notes Altman. 

Correcting misinformation on Social Security and Medicare

The Washington, DC-based National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare is launching a new public education campaign — sponsored by AARP — to correct misinformation about Social Security and emphasize the program’s value to American workers, especially to communities of color.  The campaign, “Social Security: Here Today, Here Tomorrow,” is intended to debunk myths and give workers the facts about their vital earned benefits.  The campaign includes a series of public town halls across the U.S. between June and October, 2023,  featuring prominent Social Security experts and advocates, Social Security officials, and financial advisors.

Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Protected Social Security and Medicare says, “There is a ‘doom and gloom’ narrative about Social Security today. ‘The program is going bankrupt.’ ‘It won’t be there for future generations.’ ‘Politicians are stealing from Social Security.’ None of that is true. We want the public to understand that Social Security is there for them today — and it will be there for them tomorrow. And not just in retirement, but in case of disability, the death of a family breadwinner, or the retirement of a spouse. That’s what this campaign is all about.” Richtman will moderate some of the upcoming town halls.

“Social Security is a financial lifeline to millions of American seniors, but it is especially crucial to the Black community.  Black Americans traditionally rely on Social Security for monthly income more than other groups do, due to wage and job discrimination, diminishing employer-provided pensions, and challenges in saving for retirement. “Like all Americans, the Black community pays into Social Security with every paycheck — and deserves to know that the government will keep its promise to provide baseline financial security when they encounter what President Franklin Roosevelt called ‘the hazards and vicissitudes’ of life,” says Richtman.

Here is a schedule of the town halls. Admission is free. Reservations are required.

Philadelphia, PA, July 26, 2023 at Center In The Park

Lansing, MI, August 28, 2023 at AARP Michigan Office (To be televised later on WLAJ-TV/ABC)

Milwaukee, WI, September, 2023 (date & location TBA)

Las Vegas, NV, October, 2023 (date & location TBA)

Visit www.socialsecurityheretoday.org for registration information. Those unable to attend the free town halls in person will be able to watch live video streams.

Here is the text for the RSC’s FY 2024 Budget, Protecting America’s Economic Security: https://hern.house.govPuploadedfiles/202306141135_fy24_rsc_budget_print_final_c.pdf

House GOP leadership is committed to holding a vote to approve the RSC budget this year.  With a razor thin majority in the House and with Democrats stringing opposing, the RSC budget is unlikely to pass the lower chamber. 

In an interview with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that aired Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, on “Face the Nation,” McCarthy stated, “Medicare and Medicaid slashes are off the table.”  But with three fourths of the House GOP caucus endorsing the RSC budget, making cuts to Social Security and Medicare, older voters must make it clear to their House lawmaker, “Don’t touch Social Security and Medicare.”

Trustee Reports predict improved outlook for Social Security and Medicare

Published in RINewsToday on June 6, 2022

On June 2, 2022, following a meeting of the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, the Social Security Administration (SSA) – joined by the Departments of Health and Human Services and Labor, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the U.S. Department of Treasury — released a 275-page annual report giving us a snapshot of the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds.

The Trustee reports findings

According to this year’s Trustee Reports, “Social Security and Medicare both face long-term financing shortfalls under currently scheduled benefits and financing. Costs of both programs will grow faster than gross domestic product (GDP) through the mid-2030s primarily due to the rapid aging of the U.S. population. Medicare costs will continue to grow faster than GDP through the late 2070s due to projected increases in the volume and intensity of services provided.”

The Social Security Trustees report that the combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) Trust Funds, paying benefits to 65 million retirees, disabled people as well as survivors of deceased workers, are projected to become depleted in 2035, one year later than projected last year, with 80 percent of benefits payable at that time. The DI Trust Fund asset reserves are not projected to become depleted during the 75-year projection period.

“It is important to strengthen Social Security for future generations. The Trustees recommend that lawmakers address the projected trust fund shortfalls in a timely way to phase in necessary changes gradually,” says Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security in a statement announcing the released report. “Social Security will continue to be a vital part of the lives of 66 million beneficiaries and 182 million workers and their families during 2022,” she adds.   

The Medicare Board of Trustees note in its 263 page report that the projected depletion date for Medicare’s trust fund for inpatient hospital care (Part A), covering around 64 million retirees and disabled persons, moved from last year’s forecast of 2026 to 2028. At this time Medicare will only be able to pay 90% of the scheduled benefits when the fund is depleted.

“We are committed to running a sustainable Medicare program that provides high quality, person-centered care to older Americans and people with disabilities,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. In a statement “Medicare trust fund solvency is an incredibly important, longstanding issue and we are committed to working with Congress to continue building a vibrant, equitable, and sustainable Medicare program,” she says.

Thoughts from senior advocacy groups

In a statement, AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins said that this year’s Social Security and Medicare Trustee report sends this clear message to Congress: “The Social Security and Medicare Trustees’ reports should send this “clear message” to Congress: “Despite the short-term improvement, you must act to protect the benefits people have earned and paid into both now and for the long-term. The stakes are too high for the millions of Americans who rely on Medicare and Social Security for their health and financial well-being.”

“These reports also underscore the urgent need for Congress to pass legislation allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices, which would result in billions of dollars of savings for seniors, the Medicare program, and taxpayers,” says Jenkins.

Jenkins also calls on Congress to increase funding to fix serious long-time Social Security customer service problems, which currently impede or keep seniors and people with disabilities from getting their benefits in a timely manner.

Following the release of the Trustees Report, Executive Director Alex Lawson, of the Washington, DC-based Social Security Works, (SSW) a social welfare organization that lobbies for Social Security Reforms, also issued a statement: “Today’s report shows that our Social Security system remains strong. Protecting and expanding benefits is a question of values, not affordability. That this year’s projections are even stronger than last year’s proves once again that Social Security is built to withstand times of crisis, including pandemics.”

We don’t have a Social Security crisis, but we do have a retirement income crisis. With prices rising, seniors and people with disabilities are struggling to afford food and medicine. The solution is to expand Social Security,” says Lawson. 

According to SSW, the 2020 Social Security Trustee’s Report reported that Social Security has an accumulated surplus of about $2.85 trillion.  It projects that, even if Congress took no action whatsoever, Social Security not only can pay all benefits and associated administrative costs until 2035, it is 90 percent funded for the next quarter century, 84 percent for the next half century, and 81 percent for the next three quarters of a century.  

“At the end of the century, in 2095, Social Security is projected to cost just 5.86 percent of the gross domestic product (“GDP”), less than most other wealthy countries spend on their counterpart programs,” says SSW.

Max Richtman, President and CEO of the Washington, DC-based National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), throws in his two cents about this year’s Trustee Report. “The takeaway from the latest Social Security Trustees report is this:  Congress must strengthen the program’s finances without delay. The Trustees project that the combined Social Security retirement and disability trust fund will become depleted by 2035, one year later than projected in their previous report. At that point, every Social Security beneficiary will suffer a 20% cut to their benefits.”

“Seniors struggling to meet rising living expenses need Social Security to be boosted and strengthened. The pandemic, runaway inflation and devastating stock market losses serve to remind us how vital a robust Social Security program is to workers, retirees, the disabled and their families. The clock is running down. The time for fair, just, and equitable action that safeguards Social Security’s financial stability is now,” adds Richtman.   

While acknowledging that the trust fund insolvency date may fluctuate from year to year, the urgent need to boost the program’s financing and benefits remains consistent, says Richtman. 

NCPSSM’s Richtman says, over the years, the GOP has opposed the expansion and strengthening of Social Security and has called for raising the retirement age, privatization, and more recently, ‘sunsetting’ Social Security and Medicare every five years.  He calls for passage of Rep. John Larson’s Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust legislation that would extend trust fund solvency by requiring high wage earners to contribute their fair share through an adjustment in the payroll wage cap. 

A Washington Insider says that House Speaker’s Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) policy staff are concerned about the cost of Larson’s Social Security fix legislation and are seeking a CBO cost estimate. At press time this measure has more than 200 Democratic cosponsors in the House. The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), the Task Force on Aging and Families, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus have all called on Pelosi to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote.

“Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, our economic recovery has strengthened both the Social Security and Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Funds and improved financial projections for these vital programs. But to ensure that every American worker, senior, child, and person with disabilities receives the necessary and earned benefits provided by both Social Security and Medicare, we need to act. That’s why I am an original cosponsor of legislation like Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust, to not only enhance benefits for seniors and some of our most vulnerable neighbors, but to also guarantee access to these programs for generations to come,” said Congressman David Cicilline, (D-RI).  

Congress can step in to financially strengthen the Social Security and Medicare programs. A message from the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees suggest Congress pass legislation to reduce or eliminate the long-term financing shortfalls in both the Social Security and Medicare. “Taking action sooner rather than later will allow consideration of a broader range of solutions and provide more time to phase in changes so that the public has adequate time to prepare,” say the Trustees.

Congress should look for “medium-term solvency” fixes to ensure that Social Security program can pay full benefits for several decades rather than for the full 75-year projection period, suggests Paul N. Van De Water, Senior Fellow at the Washington, DC-based Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonprofit nonpartisan research organization and policy institute that conducts research on government policies and programs. “But shoring up the program’s financing for a substantial period of time is important for assuring both current and future beneficiaries that Social Security will be there for them in the years to come,” he says.

At a crossroad

NCPSSM’s Richtman believes Social Security’s future is now at a crossroads. “We can either cut benefits or expand benefits and pay for it by requiring the wealthiest to pay their fair share,” he says, calling on Congress to hold an up or down votes on Larson’s Social Security legislation.

Polling shows that voters support fixing Social Security and Medicare. Seniors may well go to the polls, sending a message with their vote that strengthening and expanding Social Security is important to them.   

For a copy of the 2022 Social Security Trustee Report, go to https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2022/tr2022.pdf. For a copy of the 2022 Medicare Trustee Report, go to https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2022-medicare-trustees-report.pdf

New Budget Deal Protects Seniors’ Pocketbooks

Published in Woonsocket Call on November 1, 2015

Just days after a Republican-controlled House passed legislation with a vote of 266-167 to prevent the U.S. government from going into default on its debt obligations on Nov. 3, also averting a potential federal government shutdown next month, on Friday, Oct.30, the Republican-led upper chamber followed suit.  Just after 3:00 a.m., the Senate voted 64-35 to approve a two-year bipartisan budget plan sending the bill to President Obama for his signature.

Before Friday’s Senate vote, on Thursday afternoon GOP Presidential contender Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)’s 20 minute filibuster fizzled, with Senate leadership moving forward for the budget bills consideration.  The measure had strong support for passage.  Retiring House GOP Speaker John Boehner with Congressional leaders from both political parties and President Barack Obama pulled together, putting aside differences, to craft the bill.

.           Before the companion legislation was taken up by the House and Senate, in a statement AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins, representing 38 million baby boomers and seniors, called on Congressional leaders and their members to support the bipartisan agreement, one that financially protect older Americans.   Jenkins detailed a number of provisions within the 144 page bill that would “reduce skyrocketing Medicare Part B premiums and alleviate the challenges faced by the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Trust Fund.”

Rhode Island Lawmakers Give Thumbs Up

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), called the bipartisan budget agreement “a credible compromise,” noting that “It is only a two-year patch, but it puts us on a much better path forward.   Reed, who sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee, called on the House and Senate Appropriations committees to “quickly reach consensus and produce a detailed omnibus spending package by the Dec. 11 deadline.”

“This budget deal will provide much-need relief from harmful sequester cuts and give the nation a measure of certainly we have lacked amid the patchwork of stop-gap spending bills in recent years,” added U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

Whitehouse noted the bipartisan budget deal provides “much-needed relief from harmful sequester cuts and gives the nation a measure of certainty it has “lacked amid the patchwork of stop-gap spending bills passed in recent years.”

With 37,000 Rhode Islander’s relying on the SSDI program it was easy for Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) to support the bipartisan compromise budget plan because it “prevents a 20 percent cut to SSDI benefits and extends the solvency of this critical program an additional seven years, as well as protecting thousands of Rhode Island seniors from an increase in their Medicare premiums.”

“We need to do more to protect Social Security benefits for seniors, ensure cost-of-living adjustments are calculated in a way that accounts for their needs, and lift the cap on payroll taxes so millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share,” said Rhode Island’s Democratic Congressman.

On the side line, aging advocates were also closely watching the action in both chambers, too.  “We are glad that the Budget passed by Congress this week lets people who rely on Medicare breathe a bit easier – knowing their premiums and deducible will not skyrocket next year,” said Judith Stein, founder and executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy. “However, we still have concerns about the way in which the Part B cost-sharing resolution is paid for, and concerns about the expenses underlying the original Part B increases.”

“The Center continues to urge law-makers to join Congressman Courtney (CT-2) in asking Secretary Burwell to investigate and fix the underlying reasons for the huge increase in Part B costs,” said Stein. “Much of the increase seems to come from parallel increases in billing inpatient hospital care to Part B – which was never meant to pay for such care – through the use of so-called ‘outpatient’ Observation Status.”

Older Americans Protected by Enacted Budget Plan

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 would raise the nation’s debt ceiling through March 2017, allowing the government to borrow to pay its debt. During these two years it allow Congressional lawmakers to lift budget caps for defense and domestic programs by $80 billion.

The passed budget plan derails a 52 percent Medicare Part B premium increase to 30 percent of beneficiaries, which would have hit millions of seniors in their wallets next year. Similarly, the deductible was projected to increase for these individuals to $223 next year.  But thanks to the budget agreement passed this week, the deductible will instead have a more modest increase from the current amount of $147 to approximately $167.

A general fund loan to the Medicare trust fund lessens the premium and deducible increases. Beneficiaries will repay this loan by a $3 per month premium surcharge over a five-year period.

According to the enacted budget plan, next year, only the 30 percent of the beneficiaries hit by the premium increase would pay this $3 premium surcharge.  In 2017 and beyond, all Medicare beneficiaries not subject to the hold harmless provision in a given year would pay a $3 monthly surcharge theoretically until the general fund loan is repaid..

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expected to announce final premiums for 2016 by the beginning of November.

Keeping SSDI Afloat

The enacted budget plan also prevents a 20 percent cut in Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits that would have occurred in late 2016 impacting 11 million recipients nationwide.  The enacted law now ensures at least 7 years of certainty that SSDI will pay full benefits.  Now, the passed budget measure “reallocates” a small percentage of the Social Security payroll tax to the SSDI program.  This has occurred 11 times.  But, GOP lawmakers have blocked recent efforts to transfer funds as a bargaining chip to force Congress and the Obama Administration to make cuts to Social Security benefits.

The new law would also tightens up the SSDI review process by requiring a physician or psychologist to review applications before a decision is made.  It ensures that application reviews are uniform nationally.  Finally, it requires the Social Security Administration to reject medical evidence presented in a disability application that was provided by “unlicensed” or “unsanctioned” physicians.

It also attacks Social Security fraud and abuse by providing additional funding to contact case reviews ensuring the applicants are entitled to the benefits, improves the fraud-fighting capacity of the SSA’s Office of Inspector General and increases penalties for those physicians, lawyers, translators who perpetuate fraud.

Finally, the bipartisan budget agreement closes loopholes in the current SSA law that allows higher-income recipients to exploit the rules for applying for benefits, with the goal of receiving large pension checks than Congress intended, and which most retirees are able to receive.

The savings made in the Social Security and SSDI programs remain in the Social Security trust funds and can only be used to pay for future benefits.

With Representative Paul D. Ryan now becoming the 62nd speaker of the House, the nation waits to see if the Wisconsin lawmaker has the special political skills to rein in the ultra-conservative wing of his party.  With only 374 days before the upcoming 2016  presidential and congressional elections America’s federal lawmakers must begin to work together to craft laws that will enhance the quality of life of the nation’s retirees.  Compromise is not a dirty word to those residing outside the Washington, DC beltway.  Gridlock is.