Momentum is building on a bill that would mean increased Social Security benefits for some Americans as Senate leaders prepare for a vote next week.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York took the first step toward considering the Social Security Fairness Act this week, surprising some senators by announcing plans to bring the bill to a vote next week.
“The Senate will vote on the Social Security Fairness Act by the end of the year,” he said Thursday, calling the move “a chance for senators to do the right thing for teachers, nurses, postal workers and law enforcement officers.” ” he said. And the firefighters. ”
Schumer and other supporters say the bill would unfairly reduce benefits for millions of people who have worked in public service by eliminating two tax measures known as the windfall deduction provision and the government pension offset. It states that the purpose is to prevent.
Experts say the measure is aimed at preventing some beneficiaries from receiving both a pension and Social Security benefits that are relatively higher than what they earn.
The bill passed the House with strong bipartisan support last month, and after passing the House with strong bipartisan support last month, supporters are hoping history repeats itself in the Senate. .
But some Republican lawmakers have already expressed concerns about what a bankruptcy date would mean for the program.
“If this bill passes, it will set us back six, seven, eight months. When Social Security is underfunded, that's a very serious issue that has to be taken into account,” Chuck said. -Speaked to The Hill with Sen. Grassley (R-Iowa).
“Now, that's not an indication of how I'm going to vote on this bill,” he added. “I just want to let everyone know that if we pass this bill, we're going to have to address Social Security almost a year early.”
Others shared initial concerns about the bill's estimated cost.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said this week that he would “look at it.” But he added that if Schumer “could find a way to make it more expensive, I wouldn't buy it.”
“We can't afford to keep spending more and more. That's the reality of our situation,” he said, before hinting at some skepticism about Schumer's move.
“By and large, these things are done to try to gain support from political groups, and that's what Democrats have been doing for years, and it worked for a while. But that's over.”
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the bill would cost more than $190 billion over 10 years. That too projected on a letterIf the bill becomes law, the Social Security trust fund could be “depleted about six months faster than under current law,” he told Grassley last month.
But Rep. Garrett Graves (R-Louisiana), who introduced the bill in the House, said: We got into an argument earlier this year.Budget Office estimates confirm that inaction on this bill would mean “$195.6 billion in Social Security benefits would be stolen from public employee retirees over the next 10 years.”
“And because the CBO only looks to the future, not the past, it’s amazing to think that literally hundreds of billions have been stolen from public servant retirees over the past 40 years at a time when they needed them most.” ,” Graves said at the time. “We have to get it right and ensure that teachers, police officers, firefighters and others receive the Social Security benefits they earned during their careers serving society.”
There is widespread optimism about the bill's chances of passing in the Senate. Over 60 supporting sponsorsThey supported the Senate version.
Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told The Hill that “the majority leadership has said they're going to get it out there and get it done.” “There was a good vote in the House.”
“I've played with this a little bit, and I've seen people confuse their leadership,” Wyden said, referring to Graves' special maneuvers that allow lawmakers to bypass Republican leadership and use enforcement powers. “Using a discharge petition to raise objections is something you don't see very often.” Consideration of legislation.
Unions have so far welcomed the increasing progress the bill is making.
“This bipartisan effort shows that when we come together as workers, we can right the wrongs of the past,” said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union. said this week. “I’m proud of the actions our members took to encourage members of Congress to move this bill forward.”
But some budget hawks are sounding the alarm.
“With nine years left until the nation's largest program's trust fund is fully depleted, it's truly astonishing that lawmakers are considering speeding it up six months.” said Commission Chair Maya McGuineas. A responsible federal budget, it said in a statement Thursday. “This will result in an additional $200 billion in new borrowing.”
“Hasting Social Security's collapse will only worsen its consequences. Benefits will be cut by an additional 1%, resulting in a $25,000 reduction in lifetime benefits for the typical married couple,” she argued. “We should be talking about how to prevent these cuts, rather than expanding them or realizing them sooner.”
