Tag Archives for Senator Thom Tillis

SSA Trustees Report Calls on Congress to Fix Social Security and Medicare

Published in RINewsToday on June 22, 2026

Congress faces the urgent legislative task of ensuring the long-term viability of the nation’s Social Security program. As in previous years, the Social Security Board of Trustees’ 2026 report warns that without congressional action, the OASI and DI Trust Funds will pay full benefits only through 2034. Afterward, payroll tax revenue will cover about 83% of scheduled benefits, highlighting the need for timely Congressional intervention.

Federal law requires that trust fund-financed programs such as Social Security and Medicare pay out only as much in benefits as they receive in revenues once their trust fund reserves run out.

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), about 21% to 22% of the U.S. population currently receives Social Security benefits. The released Trustee’s report notes that at the end of 2025, Social Security paid benefits to more than 70 million Americans: 56 million retired workers and their dependents, 8 million disabled workers and their families, and 6 million survivors of deceased workers. Medicare covered an estimated 69.3 million people.

The Trustees also said that recent congressional actions, including the Social Security Fairness Act and changes to the taxation of Social Security benefits, weakened the program’s long-term financial outlook.

The Social Security Board of Trustees is the group that issues the annual report on the financial health of Social Security’s trust funds — the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance fund and the Disability Insurance fund.

It has six seats:

1.    Secretary of the Treasury — also the Managing Trustee

2.    Secretary of Labor

3.    Secretary of Health and Human Services

4.    Commissioner of Social Security

5.    Public Trustee appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate

6.    Public Trustee appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate

As of the 2026 Trustees Report, the current government-position trustees are:

·         Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury and Managing Trustee

·         Keith E. Sonderling, Acting Secretary of Labor

·         Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services

·         Frank J. Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security

The two public trustee seats are currently vacant

Demographic Changes Strain Social Security Finances

The annual Trustees Report, released on June 9, said several long-term demographic trends strain the financial stability of Social Security, as fewer workers pay payroll taxes into the program to support a growing population of beneficiaries.

Americans live longer and collect benefits for more years, while millions of Baby Boomers continue to retire. Birthrates stay below historical levels, so fewer workers enter the labor force.  Lower levels of immigration increase financial pressure by reducing the number of workers who pay payroll taxes.

The combined Social Security trust funds are currently projected to pay full benefits through 2034. However, the outlook for the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund has weakened slightly. Trustees project OASI reserves will be depleted in late 2032. At that point, revenues are expected to cover only about 78% of scheduled OASI benefits, compared to the overall 83% coverage for all Social Security benefits after combined depletion.

The Trustees Report also notes that Social Security’s disability program remains financially stable. The Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund is expected to stay adequately financed throughout the 75-year projection period and pay full benefits without interruption.

Taking a Look at Medicare

Also released on June 9, the 2026 Medicare Trustees Report found that Medicare remains financially stable in the near term but faces significant long-term funding shortfalls caused by rising health care costs and an aging population.

According to the Trustees, Medicare spending will grow faster than revenues dedicated to financing the program. The health care needs of retiring Baby Boomers, growing Medicare enrollment, rising medical costs, and increased spending for services used frequently by older adults—including skilled nursing care, home health care, and hospice services—largely drive this increase.

The Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, which pays for Medicare Part A services, is projected to be depleted in the second quarter of 2033—three months earlier than last year’s prediction. After depletion, Medicare Part A would be able to cover about 89% of its costs from incoming revenue. Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing facility services, home health care, and hospice care.

Congress must act within the next seven years to prevent significant reductions in Medicare payments to providers. Addressing the projected shortfall before the 2033 trust fund depletion is essential to avoid an estimated 11% funding gap.

Unlike Part A, Medicare Parts B and D are not expected to face trust fund insolvency because they are financed through a combination of beneficiary premiums and general federal revenues.

Max Richtman, President & CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), says a range of proposals could help extend the solvency of Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund without reducing benefits.

Among the options, says Richtman, are raising the Medicare tax rate on earned and investment income above $400,000 from 3.8% to 5%, and closing loopholes that allow some high-income business owners to avoid Medicare taxes by structuring income in ways that escape both payroll taxes and the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). NCPSSM also supports redirecting revenue from the 3.8% NIIT—currently deposited into general federal revenues—directly to the HI Trust Fund, he says, noting that the group estimates this change could generate roughly $500 billion over 10 years.

In addition, Richtman recommends building on the prescription drug reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act by expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices, accelerating negotiations as more medications are added, and extending inflation-rebate requirements to commercial insurance plans. Savings from these measures, he says, would be credited directly to the HI Trust Fund, further strengthening Medicare’s long-term outlook.

Reactions From Advocacy Groups and Lawmakers

In a statement, AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan warned that the 2026 projections show Congress still must close a financing gap of nearly 20%, or Americans could face benefit reductions they cannot afford.

“This should be a wake-up call: Congress needs to act. Americans have worked hard and paid into Social Security their entire lives, and they deserve to count on it when they retire,” she said. “They planned for retirement, followed the rules, and now Congress must keep its promise by strengthening, not cutting, Social Security,” Minter-Jordan added, urging lawmakers to work across party lines to strengthen the program.

“The Social Security Trustees Report is a clarion call for Congress to strengthen the program now before the looming depletion of the trust fund becomes a full-blown crisis,” said NCPSSM’s Richtman in a released statement.

“If Congress fails to act, the combined retirement and disability trust fund reserves will run dry in 2034, and beneficiaries will suffer an automatic 17% cut—a scenario few want to see happen. Lawmakers should not wait until the last minute when options become more limited and remedies more costly,” he said.

Richtman also argued that benefit reductions are not necessary to restore Social Security’s financial health and that beneficiaries living on fixed incomes should not bear the burden of strengthening the program.

In a statement, Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, likewise emphasized that the Trustees Report demonstrates the consequences of inaction.

“As the Trustees Report plainly states, if there is insufficient revenue, Social Security benefits will be automatically cut,” Altman said.

On June 15, 2026, House Speaker Mike Johnson said during a Louisiana radio interview that Republicans would like to address the growth of mandatory federal spending programs in future budget discussions, including Social Security. He argued that the federal budget is increasingly driven by automatic spending commitments and said that Social Security and other entitlement programs “have to be adjusted and fixed.”

Responding to Johnson’s remarks, Altman argued that some Republican proposals would move Social Security toward privatization, a characterization that supporters of those proposals dispute. She also criticized proposals that would reduce future benefits rather than increase revenues to strengthen the program.

Public opinion surveys consistently show strong bipartisan support for preserving Social Security benefits. Altman argued that proposals to reduce benefits through means testing or other changes would be unpopular with voters and called on congressional candidates to explain how they would address the program’s long-term financing challenges.

During a June 10 morning hearing of the Joint Social Security and Work & Welfare Subcommittee with Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, held in room 1100 at 100 Longworth House Office Building, Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) noted that Social Security benefits have only been modified twice in 40 years, most recently in 1983, with only minor changes under his chairmanship of the House Committee on Ways and Means in 2025.

“Congress needs to get its act together to address Social Security and the insolvency that’s coming instead of poking blame at other people when it is our duty, our responsibility,” Smith said, urging bipartisan cooperation between Republicans and Democrats to reform the program. He called for the protection of vulnerable populations who depend entirely on Social Security for retirement and a dignified standard of living, particularly in the rural communities they represent.

“This latest report from the trustees is proof that Congress must step up now to protect Social Security before it’s too late. It’s only going to cost more and be more difficult to solve the longer we wait,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in a statement issued on June 10, outlining his plan to rescue Social Security by creating a sovereign wealth fund independent of the Social Security Trust Fund.

Cassidy joined Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in issuing a bipartisan statement following the release of the Trustees Report. The senators said that “Congress shouldn’t delay any longer” and urged lawmakers to begin debating and voting on proposals to strengthen Social Security’s long-term solvency.

Putting Social Security on the Ballot

The Trustees’ Report makes it very clear that Social Security and Medicare are not facing an immediate financial crisis. Both programs will continue paying benefits for years to come. However, these reports also warn Congress that delaying action will make the eventual policy solutions more difficult to achieve and potentially more disruptive.

Many Republican proposals focus on slowing future benefit growth through measures such as raising the retirement age, modifying cost-of-living adjustments, or expanding means testing, while many Democrats favor increasing revenues by requiring higher-income Americans to contribute more into the system.

Over a year ago, lawmakers introduced a major bill to rescue Social Security and Medicare. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act (S. 1690) to ensure both programs remain stable in the future. The plan raises money by closing tax loopholes for ultra-wealthy Americans, but it completely shields anyone making under $400,000 a year from paying higher taxes. Representative Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA) brought the exact same bill to the House floor at the same time.

Legislative proposals, such as Whitehouse’s, to adjust the taxable wage cap or apply payroll taxes to certain forms of investment income have also been offered as ways to ensure Social Security’s fiscal solvency.

A new voter education campaign is highlighting the financial challenges facing Social Security. Led by NCPSSM’s Richtman, the “Social Security is on the Ballot” initiative aims to build public support for legislative solutions, including Sen. Whitehouse and Rep. Boyle’s proposed Fair Share Act, to help secure funding for the program.

There are many issues competing for voters’ attention this year,” explains Richtman, “But few will have such a profound effect on your future. Voters should insist [at the ballot box] that the fundamental promise of Social Security be preserved – as the program is strengthened for the future,” he said.

This multi-faceted campaign will encompass social media, short web videos, special editions of our “You Earned This” podcast and radio show, mailings, and grass-roots engagement/activism.

For over 70 million older Americans who rely on their Social Security and Medicare benefits, the Trustees’ Reports deliver a very clear message: Congress must act sooner rather than kicking the proverbial can down the road (as it usually has). As the projected trust fund depletion dates draw closer, lawmakers will need to work across the aisle to strengthen these programs and ensure they remain financially sound for current beneficiaries and future generations.

___

For a copy of the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report, go to The 2026 OASDI Trustees Report

For a copy of the 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, go to 2026 Medicare Trustees Report

Historic Social Security Legislation Awaits President’s Signature

Published in RINewsToday on Dec. 30, 2024

After 40 years, a polarized Congress actually worked together on behalf of millions of Americans with public pensions to push through bipartisan legislation repealing two Social Security provisions that would benefit these individuals. Just past midnight in the early hours of Saturday, on Dec. 21, 2024, the U.S. Senate took up S. 597, a companion measure to H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act, repealing unpopular WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) & GPO (Government Pension Offset) provisions titles in the Social Security program.   

The House had overwhelmingly passed H.R. 82, introduced last month introduced by Reps. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA).

The Senate companion measure, authored by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), overwhelmingly passed without amendment, by a Yea-Nay vote, 76-20 (with Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), JD Vance (R-Ohio), Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) not voting) and now goes to President Biden to be signed into law. At press time, H.R. 82 has not been signed and the President has until Dec. 31 to sign or veto the bill.

Before the historic Senate vote, at a Dec. 16 meeting with Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), and Executive Director Jim Pasco met with President-elect Donald J. Trump at his home in Mar-a-Lago, President elect Donald Trump announced his support for the upper chambers’ passage of the “Social Security Fairness Act”— the “FOP’s top priority.”

Earlier this year, Collins and Brown had called on Senate leadership to immediately bring their legislation, which had 62 Senate co-sponsors—above the margin needed for passage—to the Senate floor for a vote. Collins held the first Senate hearing on this policy in 2003 as Chair of the Senate Government Affairs Committee. She, along with the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, first introduced the Social Security Fairness Act in 2005. 

Their bipartisan efforts pushed the legislative Social Security fix across the goal line, at the end of the second session of the 118th Congress.  For Brown, who lost his bid for re-election in November, passage of S. 597 was a bitter sweet moment for him as he leaves the U.S. Senate after serving as a U.S. senator from Ohio since 2007. 

In a Nutshell… 

According to Graves, WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security.  This financially impacts educators who do not earn Social Security in public schools but who work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security, who have reduced benefits, even though they pay into the system just like others, Graves says.

Likewise, the GPO affects the spousal benefits of people who work as federal, state, or local government employees — including police officers, firefighters, and educators — if the job is not covered by Social Security. The GPO reduces by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who also collect a government pension, added Graves. 

According to the National Education Association (NEA), more than 2.8 million public sector employees in 26 states were impacted by GPO and WEP. Educators were affected in 15 of those states, because they pay into their state pension system, but not into Social Security, says NEA. 

The WEP currently impacts approximately 2 million Social Security beneficiaries, and the GPO impacts nearly 800,000 retirees.

Rally calls for passage of H.R. 82, gets Majority Senate Leader’s attention

Before Congress left Capitol Hill for recess, Graves and Spanberger, the primary sponsors of H.R. 82, had filed a discharge petition for their Social Security Fairness Act — which secured the required 218 signatures needed  to force a floor vote in the U.S. House. On Nov. 12, 2024,  a bipartisan majority voted 327 to 74, under suspension of rules to pass the legislation, sending it to the upper legislative chamber for consideration.

A week before the Senate vote on Dec. 21th, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association along with unions representing fire fighters, teachers, police officers and other public service workers rallied at 11:30 a.m., at the Upper Senate Park at the U.S. Capitol, in pouring rain outside the Capitol, calling for passage of H.R. 82. Joining the rally, Majority Senate leader Chuck Schumer.  “I’m here to tell you all today – we are going to call a vote on repealing WEP and GPO,” he said, calling the two Social Security titles “unfair and un-American.”  

 After the rally, Graves quickly issued this statement:  “The Senate Majority Leader has called for a vote on our bill H.R. 82 – provided he gets the necessary 60 votes to get it to the floor. More than 60 Senators support our Social Security Fairness Act. In the House we have led the effort for years to build the winning coalition, resulting in the most cosponsored bill – the most popular bill – in the Congress. We defied the odds and fought back sneak attacks to successfully complete a discharge petition that resulted in the first vote in history to repeal the WEP and GPO. The heavy lifting is done. The path to victory could not be clearer. A WEP-GPO repeal could be in the stockings of millions of public service retirees this Christmas. Pass H.R. 82 now,” he said.   

GOP lawmakers express concerns over financial impact

In response to a request from Chuck Grassley, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had provided the Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee with its legislative analysis. The findings showed that the elimination of the WEP and GPO, as specified in H.R. 82, would permanently increase outlays for scheduled Social Security benefits—that is, the amounts that the program would pay if it continued to pay benefits as scheduled under current law, regardless of whether the program’s two trust funds had sufficient balances to cover those payments. That increase in Social Security benefits would drive the program’s spending even further above its revenues than it is already projected to be under current law. CBO estimates that the changes will cost nearly $ 200 billion over a 10-year period.

Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Grassley (R-IA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) and 16 other Republican Senators opposed passage, expressing strong concerns about the bill’s cost. This apprehension reinforced by the recently released CBO analysis.

Citing a CBO analysis of S. 82, the Republican Senators were concerned that the legislative proposal would reduce the Social Security trust fund by an additional $200 billion during the next decade, moving up the insolvency date by six months.

On the Senate floor, North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said the bill’s title made it sound like “motherhood and apple pie,” quipping “who could be against Social Security fairness?” But he argued it wasn’t the right approach to address the problem.

However, 29 Republican Senators, including Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), were not concerned about the CBO analysis, voting for passage of the legislative proposal. 

Following the Senate vote, in a video on X, Kennedy stated: “Social Security is not free. People pay into it. The money we “spent” today in this bill – all we did is give it back to the people who earned it. Today was a good day. It was a good day for fairness, it was a good day for the Social Security system, and a good day for the people of Louisiana – even if you aren’t affected by these two unfair provisions of the Social Security Act, all Louisianians I know believe in fairness. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and I think we did the right thing here, and I’m pleased.” 

With the dust settling after the Senate vote, after 40 years of trying to fix a Social Security benefits issue impacting public sector workers, Democratic and Republican lawmakers put aside political differences and finally fixed the pressing policy issue.

Celebrating the historic passage 

Following the Senate vote for passage of H.R. 82, the National Fraternal Order of Police, International Association of Fire Fighters, National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, National Education Association, and Peace Officers Research Association of California applauded this legislation being sent to the president’s desk to enhance the fairness of Social Security to public workers. 

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) commended the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act, legislation he cosponsored to eliminate two policies. “Thousands of Rhode Islanders who receive government pensions but also contributed to Social Security through private-sector employment stand to benefit from the legislation,” he says.

“I’ve worked with my colleague Sherrod Brown for years to pass this legislation in order to ensure that millions of teachers, postal workers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and other dedicated civil servants get the benefits they have earned, says U.S. Senator Jack Reed. “I’m glad we were able to finally deliver this correction for millions of hardworking Americans and I’m committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security to ensure all Americans are able to retire with the dignity and financial security they have earned,” he said.

Max Richman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) called for passage of this bill because it because it removes an unfairness in the retirement system by allowing teachers, firefighters, and police officers (among others) and their families to collect Social Security benefits. 

Before the Senate vote, NCPSSM announced its opposition of any amendment that diluted this legislation or cut Social Security benefits in any way — including raising the retirement age.  The Washington, DC-based Social Security advocacy group circulated a letter to all 100 U.S. Senators before the vote on Dec. 21, opposing any efforts to raise the retirement age. 

According to Richtman, nearly 3 million public sector employees are on the verge of being able to receive the Social Security benefits they’ve earned — thanks to the United States Senate. 

“We supported this bill because it removes an unfairness in the system by finally allowing teachers, firefighters, and police officers (among others) and their families to collect full Social Security benefits. Many of our own members and supporters made it clear that they want the WEP & GPO repealed,” says Richtman.

“The Senate vote delivers us to the doorstep of a long-sought goal — to restore fairness to a system that has worked incredibly well for nearly 90 years to provide American workers with basic financial security,” says Richtman. 

According to a statement issued by National Education Association, Martha Karlovetz estimated that these discriminatory laws have cost her more than a hundred thousand dollars since 1995, when she retired from teaching at the Parkway School District outside St. Louis, Missouri. And if her husband had passed away before her, the laws would have meant that Karlovetz would have received only $14 per month in survivor benefits, even though her husband paid Social Security taxes throughout his 40-year career at McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing.

“The repeal of GPO and WEP is truly a historic win for all public employees and their families,” said Karlovetz. “These unfair provisions have taken a great toll. I have lost well over $110,000 in benefits earned in the 15 years I worked and paid into Social Security before becoming a teacher in Missouri, a GPO-WEP state. Now that we have helped achieve this victory, educators like me can breathe easier. For some, this is truly life-changing,” she says.

With the 119th Congress fast approaching, Congressional lawmakers must work together to fix a financially ailing Social Security Program.  Just like they did to pass bipartisan legislation to right a wrong affecting millions of retirees and public sector workers.  

To see Nov. 8 CBO correspondence to Sen. Grassley as to impact of S. 82 on the Social Security program, go to https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-11/60876-HR82.pdf

 To download a CRS report that details Social Security beneficiaries affected by both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), to https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45845