WASHINGTON DC (April 22, 2019) — Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa today issued the following statement regarding the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees’ annual reports.
“Increased growth in the economy, wages, and additional employment stemming from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, along with an end to the prior Administration’s crippling regulatory agenda that choked the economy, have helped Americans at work and in their retirement security. With bigger paychecks, more jobs, and increased pension+values, Americans’ retirement-savings are better protected.
“While the strong economy and labor markets are helping Americans across the board, Social Security and Medicare trust-funds also benefit. However, it remains that those trust-funds are not financially sustainable, and reforms are necessary to ensure stability and sustainability of Medicare and Social Security programs.
“As the reports show, the nation’s Medicare program will be in the red in less than a decade — by 2026 — and the Social Security combined disability and retirement trust-funds will be exhausted in 2035. With Social Security facing more than $43 trillion of unfunded future-liabilities, which is up by almost $9 trillion from last year’s report, it’s clear that work needs to be done to ensure that these programs can truly benefit future generations.
“That work will require bipartisanship and cooperation. Unfortunately, partisan politics have even crept into the Social Security and Medicare trustee reports themselves. For the fourth year in a row, these reports lack oversight from public trustees — the longest period since 1985 when the role of public trustee began. That role was designed in the interest of increasing public trust in the integrity of the trust-funds. Unfortunately, lack of public trustees being in position is a continuing product of partisanship and obstruction on the part of Democratic leadership.”
