House Budget Cmte. Holds Hearing on Social Security Trustees Report
Ranking Committee Member Brendan Boyle (D-PA) Republicans and Democrats clearly had different takeaways from the recent Social Security Trustees
Dem/GOP Split on Social Security Apparent in Hill Hearing
The House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee held a hearing about the program's trustees' projection that the Social Security trust fund will become depleted in 2035, absent Congressional action. Even so, Social Security still could pay 83% of scheduled benefits at that time. No one wants Congressional inaction, but the hearing emphasized the difference in the two parties' approaches to the problem.
House GOP Appropriators Announce 10% Cut in Labor/HHS Spending
House Republicans once again are showing where their true priorities lie. Appropriations committee chair Tom Cole (R-OK) announced the GOP’s topline numbers for fiscal year 2025 --- including at least a 10% cut in funding for Labor/HHS (Health & Human Services). That could mean agencies like the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would endure a huge spending cut, while Republican appropriators propose to boost military spending by 1%.
Wisconsin’s MAGA Senate Candidate in Hot Water again re. Nursing Homes
We blogged a couple of weeks ago about Wisconsin GOP Senate candidate Erik Hovde’s head-scratching comments about seniors in nursing homes supposedly not having the mental capacity to vote. Now, the New York Times has reported, Hovde is financially entangled with a nursing home that is being sued for mistreating patients:
MAGA Wisconsin Senate Candidate Rebuked for Nursing Home Comments
Seniors’ advocates and their political allies are criticizing recent comments by Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde suggesting that nursing home residents can't – or shouldn't – vote. Hovde, who is running to unseat incumbent Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), told Fox News’ Guy Benson:::
“We had nursing homes where you had 100 percent voting… Well, if you’re in a nursing home, you only have a five, six-month life expectancy. Almost nobody in a nursing home is in a point to vote. And you had children, adult children showing up saying, ‘Who voted for my 85 or 90-year-old father or mother?’” – GOP Senate candidate Eric Hovde
These comments by the Trump-endorsed, MAGA Republican candidate drew sharp rebukes as blatantly ageist and fact-free.
84 Years Ago Today the First Social Security Beneficiary Got Her Check
Ida Mae Fuller in 1940 The following article is reprinted from the Social Security Administration (SSA) website www.ssa.gov The
NCPSSM “Tremendously Disappointed” by House Budget Committee Vote
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare is tremendously disappointed in the House Budget Committee’s vote to favorably report the Fiscal Commission Act of 2023 out of committee. This is the final step in the legislative process before the bill comes to the House floor for a vote. A fiscal commission is designed to give individual members of Congress political cover for cutting Americans’ earned benefits.
NCPSSM President Testifies Against Fiscal Commission Proposal
NCPSSM president Max Richtman offered testimony today to the U.S. House Budget Committee, warning that the creation of a fiscal commission to address the federal debt could jeopardize Social Security and Medicare benefits.
FDR’S Grandson Says This Is a ‘High Stakes Time’ For Social Security
Social Security — which turned 88 years old this month — is one of my grandfather’s greatest legacies. It’s no exaggeration to say that this is a high stakes time for his landmark program. Powerful opponents of Social Security are calling for privatization, cutting the annual COLA, raising the retirement age, and even “sunsetting” the program.
Marking the First Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act
President Biden signed the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law one year ago today. It was the first time Congress