Larson: Republicans Are Busy Attacking Social Security While Democrats Have a Plan to Strengthen Americans’ Earned Benefits

Washington, D.C. - Today, during a hearing on the solvency of Social Security, Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) highlighted the urgent need for Congress to extend the solvency of Social Security and enhance benefits by making the wealthy pay their fair share. 

You can view Rep. Larson’s remarks here. 

“Republicans are busy attacking Social Security. What is their plan for Social Security? It is to cut benefits now, so the ultra-wealthy don’t have to pay their fair share,” said Larson. “The Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus in the House Republican Conference, proposed $1.5 trillion in cuts to Social Security, including by raising the retirement age for working Americans – a 21% cut in benefits. And Republicans have been pushing a double-secret probation ‘fiscal commission’ to get those cuts done behind closed doors. This is all so they can deliver another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations.” 

“If we were to raise the retirement age by three years as has been proposed, what would that mean in terms of a cut to benefits - if we went from 67 to 70?” Larson asked Social Security Chief Actuary Steve Goss. 

“It would depend on how rapidly we did this, but at the point at which we had the retirement age raised by the three years as you’d indicated earlier, that reduces retirement benefits, monthly benefits, and lifetime benefits by about 6.5 to 7% for each year that we raise, so an additional three year increase in the normal retirement age would in fact lower benefits by on the order of 20%,” responded Goss. 

Led by Ranking Member Larson, nearly 200 House Democrats have introduced Social Security 2100 to extend the Trust Fund’s solvency until 2066 and enhance benefits for the first time in more than 50 years by heeding President Biden’s call to ‘scrap the cap’ on income above $400,000 a year so the wealthy pay into Social Security with each and every paycheck.  

Meanwhile, the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of House Republicans, recently offered a budget plan that would make $1.5 trillion in benefit cuts, even raising the retirement age, while delivering another tax break for the wealthy and large corporations.