Promise Act Social Security plan draws AARP warning to Congress
AARP says a bipartisan Senate bill would rush Social Security talks as trust funds face possible depletion as early as 2032.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
AARP is warning Congress not to push the Promise Act Social Security plan through an accelerated process, saying any fix to the retirement program should get a full public airing before lawmakers vote.
In a letter to legislators, Nancy LeaMond, AARP’s executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer, said the group agrees Congress must address Social Security’s finances. Her objection is to the way a bipartisan Senate proposal would set up the next step.
“How Congress acts matters,” LeaMond wrote, adding that changes to a program central to retirement security for millions of Americans should be handled “openly, transparently, deliberatively and through regular order,” rather than through a faster process that could limit review of proposals that might reduce benefits.
What is the Promise Act for Social Security?
The Promise Act, short for Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone, would direct the Social Security Advisory Board to draw up a plan for keeping the program solvent for at least 50 years. Congress would then vote on the board’s recommendations.
The Social Security Advisory Board is an independent body. It currently has four members, according to MarketWatch, though it can have as many as seven.
Under the bill, the board would have to present a detailed plan to Congress by Sept. 14. AARP says that schedule would leave too little room for public input, limit lawmakers’ ability to amend proposals and tee up expedited debate during the lame-duck session after the November elections.
LeaMond also pointed to the last major Social Security overhaul in 1983, saying that effort moved through regular procedure with broad debate and amendments.
Why Social Security is under pressure
Social Security’s finances are on a clock. The annual Social Security and Medicare trustees’ report said the program’s two trust funds could run out as early as 2032, at which point the program would be able to pay only 78% of scheduled benefits.
Congress has not yet advanced a fix for the current shortfall, though lawmakers have avoided letting the program fail in the past. AARP says older Americans are asking whether payments they have earned will continue, whether claims will be processed on time and whether they will be able to get customer service when needed.
Rebecca Vallas, chief executive of the National Academy of Social Insurance, said the public is more united on Social Security than Washington’s fights suggest. She said broad majorities across party, age, income and education prefer raising revenue over cutting benefits.
A NASI report cited a preferred package of changes that included eliminating the payroll-tax cap for high earners, using a cost-of-living adjustment tied to older workers’ spending patterns, raising payroll-tax rates for both employees and employers, and trimming benefits for high-income retirees.
Who is behind the Senate bill?
The Promise Act is led by Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Chris Coons of Delaware; Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Alan Armstrong of Oklahoma and John Cornyn of Texas; and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine.
A spokesperson for Durbin rejected AARP’s criticism, saying the bipartisan bill would not bypass the normal legislative process for changing Social Security. The spokesperson said it would give the program’s future more scrutiny, debate and discussion than most measures Congress considers.
“If regular order is the gold standard, the Promise Act is platinum,” the spokesperson said, adding that the bill is meant to produce serious debate without the delays that have blocked bipartisan action.
This story draws on original reporting from MarketWatch.