GOP faces internal battle over raising age for Social Security

Republicans are locked in an internal battle over whether to push through reforms that would cut Social Security spending, with some conservatives rallying around the idea of ​​raising the retirement age.

Republicans pushing for Social Security reform argue that raising the retirement age would not cut benefits, but would be phased in so as not to affect people closer to retirement age.

But others within the party say it’s political malfeasance to discuss deferring Social Security benefits in an election year, giving Democrats the perfect opportunity to criticize Republican candidates who want to cut Social Security. He warns that he will give.

“It’s a terrible idea. I completely disagree with this,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) said of raising the retirement age even for people who don’t plan to retire anytime soon.

“What a terrible idea. If Republicans want to remain the minority party forever, be willing to support it,” he said. “Republicans are really stupid. If they go to the people who are working and say, ‘Congratulations, you’ve been paying this your whole life, payroll taxes, and now we’re going to take some of that away from you. If you want to say, “Yes, we’re going to put you to work,” you can say, “I think that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” even longer than you had beforehand. ”

Republicans’ calls for Social Security reform have been reinforced this week by the House Republican Study Committee (RSC), which includes more than 170 Republicans. The budget proposal that called for “adjustments” was announced, attracting new attention. Average life. “

Proponents of raising the Social Security retirement age have proposed raising it from 67 to 69 in the past, but the RSC budget does not provide a specific number.

The RSC’s budget also calls for lower benefits for the highest-income beneficiaries, a move supporters call “means testing”.

Republican lawmakers who have called for reform of the entitlement program say it’s important to consider changes in light of the nation’s growing debt and keep the program solvent.

But Democrats pounced on the proposal, arguing that they would cut Social Security if Republicans regained the White House and the Senate majority.

They also tried to tie the proposal to former President Trump, a Republican candidate who has recently been active on Social Security reform.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York slammed the plan Thursday on the Senate floor, calling it “cruel” and “far removed from what most Americans want.”

“The Republican Research Committee has called for more than $1.5 trillion in cuts to Social Security, echoing former President Donald Trump, who recently said, ‘There’s a lot that can be done’ when it comes to cutting Social Security.”

President Trump later walked back remarks he made in an interview with host Joe Kernen on CNBC, telling Breitbart News that as president he would “never do anything that would hurt or jeopardize Social Security.” .

Republicans hoping to avoid Social Security in an election year have argued that Social Security is known as the “third rail” of politics, a very dangerous system that can get anyone who tries to touch it burned. He warns that this is a dangerous problem.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) warned, “It’s a terrible idea to talk about any kind of adjustment to Social Security without having a thorough discussion about mandatory and discretionary spending.”

He said any talks on social security reform needed to be part of a comprehensive deficit-reduction deal that looked at spending in all areas of government, not just tax policy.

“Putting out proposals piecemeal only exposes us to political arrows,” he says.

“Talk about a gift to the Democrats. People seem to have lost their political ear if they think adjusting Social Security benefits makes sense to discuss at any time, let alone in an election year.” Even more so inside,” he fumed.

Social Security is increasingly likely to become an issue in the presidential election, with President Biden using Trump’s remarks in his State of the Union address to attack Republicans. He brought up the issue again recently while campaigning in New Hampshire.

“Many of my Republican friends want to put Social Security and Medicare back in jeopardy,” he said. “If someone wants to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age again, I will stop them.”

But some Republicans in Congress say the party can’t continue to ignore the issue.

“Ultimately, if we want to leave social security to the next generation, we need to reform it. Reform proposals include raising the age and considering taxation. We need to talk about it, not because someone wants to cut Social Security, but because we want to preserve it for the next generation,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

He noted that Congress raised the Social Security retirement age from 65 to 67 in 1983.

“It was done in a bipartisan, responsible way, a few months out of the year. It doesn’t hurt as much if you do it gradually,” he said.

“Those who speak of reform are condemned by all, but those who are reluctant to reform are condemned. [reform the program] “Social Security is projected to cut payments to people by 20 percent unless they change the program, so they really are the ones to blame,” Paul argued.

The Social Security Administration Board projects that the program will not be able to pay out full benefits in 2033 without changes to increase revenue or lower spending rates.

Biden has proposed several changes to increase Social Security revenue, all of which are focused on wealthy households. Employers and employees currently pay a 12.4% tax on income up to $168,600 per year. Income above that level is not taxed. Biden would create a “donut hole” in taxes by reimposing a 12.4% tax on incomes above $400,000.

Senate Republican Leader John Thune (S.D.), who is running to become the next Senate Republican leader, said on Thursday that he would like to raise the retirement age even though the face of the Republican Party could take a major hit in this year’s elections. He said he sympathizes with conservatives who want to

“What if we did something similar to what we did in the 1980s and phased it in, starting with younger people so that it doesn’t impact people who are retiring or nearing retirement age? I think it could be politically acceptable, he said.

“It’s clear that something needs to be done to make the program sustainable, otherwise it will run out of funding in a few years and be cut by about 25%,” he said. “I think this is an issue that we have to deal with, and I hope to deal with it sooner rather than later.”

Asked about his Republican colleagues’ concerns that talking about raising the retirement age in an election year would give Democrats an avenue to attack Republicans who want to cut popular programs, Thune said, “They would say that anyway. It’s part of the Democratic strategy.”

“But if you’re really interested in preserving these programs, not just for this generation but for the next generation, we have to proceed accordingly, and at some point we have to move forward with Social Security and “We have to face the reality that Medicare is both headed for ‘bankruptcy,'” he said. “We have to take it on. It’s going to take courage at some point. It may not be the season now, but we can’t wait any longer for the season after that.”