Senators Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Social Security is back in the headlines this summer, driven by both hopeful developments and urgent warnings. In the wake of the Trustees report in June, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Moreno (R-OH), announced a bipartisan proposal to adjust the Social Security payroll wage cap and stabilize the program’s revenue ahead of looming insolvency in the early 2030s.
Moreno’s participation in a plan to increase Social Security revenue is particularly notable – and is the first of its kind from a Republican on Capitol Hill in recent memory. This is an encouraging signal that protecting Social Security benefits can bring people together across party lines. (Bipartisan majorities of Americans favor increasing revenue flowing into the system instead of reducing benefits, even if it means paying more in Social Security payroll taxes.) It also underscores something advocates have been saying for years: the best way to preserve Social Security is not by cutting it, but by demanding that the wealthiest Americans contribute their fair share.
“We have long supported adjusting the payroll wage cap so that the wealthy contribute their fair share to Social Security. ‘Scrapping the cap’ is a far more equitable way to restore the program to long-term solvency than cutting benefits (by raising the retirement age, means testing, shrinking cost-of-living adjustments, or any other way).” – Max Richtman, President and CEO, NCPSSM
The timing of this bipartisan push is no accident. Social Security has been back in the spotlight since the Social Security Trustees released their annual report earlier last month, which projects that the depletion date of the program’s trust fund could come as early as 2032, unless Congress takes action.
That’s why it’s notable that a few conservatives have begun to acknowledge the basic fairness of scrapping the cap. Marc Goldwein, senior vice president of the (right-leaning) Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) called the Senators’ proposal a “perfectly reasonable” idea. Among congressional Republicans, however, Senator Moreno remains an outlier. Look no further than Speaker Mike Johnson, who declared in a recent radio show appearance that “entitlement programs… like Social Security” are “the problem” and need to be “adjusted.” He said that Republicans have a plan to “fix” Social Security next year. We can only imagine that these unspecified ‘fixes’ include GOP favorites like raising the retirement age, means testing benefits, or lowering the COLA formula — all of which are benefit cuts.
That is exactly why we launched a new voter education campaign titled, Social Security on the Ballot. “Social Security is literally on the political calendar now, because the senators elected this cycle likely still will be in office when the trust fund deadline arrives,” said Political Director Luke Warren in our most recent episode of Capital Quick Takes. He also made the point that this campaign is about raising ‘salience’ — moving Social Security from the background into the center of public dialogue, where it belongs. “Voters should know which candidates are prepared to protect earned benefits and which ones are open to cutting them” added Warren.
The point is simple: this election will determine whether Congress protects beneficiaries or cuts benefits. Seniors, families, workers, and future Social Security recipients all deserve to know where candidates stand before they vote. As our President and CEO says, “Claiming you support Social Security is not enough. Every politician says that. The question is: will you vote to expand and strengthen the program, or cut and privatize it?”
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Read Senator Warren and Moreno’s New York Times Op-Ed HERE
Watch the latest episode of Capital Quick Takes with political director Luke Warren HERE
Read our analysis of the 2026 Social Security Trustees report HERE