Boehner readying to smash Social Security.
What's a bigger priority for Republicans to attack even than Obamacare? Social Security. They proved it Tuesday when they included a new rule in their rules package governing the 114th Congress that will prevent it from authorizing what has been routine reallocations of funds between the two Social Security programs, the retirement fund and the disability program. Reallocating funds between the programs has been entirely non-controversial and routine—
Congress has done it 11 times, from and to both programs when one needs shoring up. But now House Republicans want to end that, presumably with the aim of
forcing a crisis in 2016, when Social Security trustees say the disability program will run short.
Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., said he sponsored the provision in an effort to force Congress to find a long-term solution to the disability program's financial problems.
"By putting this rule into effect, we are sending a clear indication that we're not just going to allow the raid of retirement Social Security to be used to bail out the disability trust fund," Reed said. "We need real reform. This makes that real reform that much more likely."
Advocates for older Americans are warning that the rule could be used to help push through benefit cuts, especially since House Republicans have opposed raising taxes.
"It is difficult to believe that there is any purpose to this unprecedented change to House rules other than to cut benefits for Americans who have worked hard all their lives, paid into Social Security, and rely on their Social Security benefits, including disability, in order to survive," said Max Richtman, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
That is solely the purpose. As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
points out, retirement fund "would have only a tiny effect on the retirement program’s solvency." If a reallocation from the retirement fund isn't made in 2016, 11 million disabled workers, spouses and children will see their benefits cut by 19 percent. Those benefits are already spare, with the average disabled worker getting just $1,146 a month, less than $14,000 annually. The new rule says that the reallocation could happen, but only if it is included in a proposal that "improves the overall financial health of the combined Social Security Trust Funds."
Republicans are continuing their game of trying to pit seniors against disabled people, telling retirees that their own benefits are threatened by the disability program and giving them more political room to start chipping away at Social Security as a whole. Now they're trying to force that to happen before the next election.
