DEFAZIO AND SANDERS OFFER PLAN TO PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY

Urge Deficit Commission to Reject Privatization or Raising Retirement Age; Make Wealthy Pay Same Rate as Working Men and Women

 

WASHINGTON, September 30 – Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today sent a letter to the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, the so-called Deficit Commission, outlining a plan to protect Social Security for the more than 50 million American seniors collecting benefits. The bi-partisan Deficit Commission is charged with making recommendations to rein in federal spending in order to reduce the federal budget deficit.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and others have recently suggested that Congress may need to privatize Social Security or raise the retirement age to help save the Social Security program from insolvency. However, we do not need to raise the retirement age or cut benefits to ensure the future solvency of the program. According to the Social Security Trust Fund Board of Trustees annual report which was released last week, without any changes in the program, the Social Security Trust Fund will continue to pay current benefits up until 2037 – 27 years from now. And without any changes in the program, after 2037 the Social Security Trust Fund would continue to pay up to 75% of current benefits until 2075.

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