The Republican Study Committee (RSC), a congressional caucus that comprises most of the Republican party, released its annual budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 on Wednesday.
Announced by the RSC Chairman Kevin Hern, RSC’s Budget and Spending Task Force Chairman Ben Cline, and members of the Budget and Spending Task Force, the “Fiscal Sanity to Save America” would address the $34.5 trillion in federal debt and “budgets balances in just seven years, cuts spending by $16.7 trillion over ten years, and reduces taxes on Americans by $5.3 trillion over ten years.” The budget is made up of 285 individual bills and initiatives from 192 members.
Specifically, the proposal addresses Social Security insolvency and expects spending on the federal benefit to grow from $1.5 trillion to $2.5 trillion between 2023 and 2034. Republicans slammed President Biden’s current proposal to mitigate insolvency and accused the current budget of doing nothing to prevent “23 percent across-the-board cuts in benefits that will hit every Social Security recipient in 2033.”
The proposal calls for an increase in the full retirement age (FRA) for future retirees, but explicitly states it would not cut or delay retirement benefits for seniors in or near retirement.
“The RSC Budget & Spending Task Force cannot be more clear: we will not now or ever support cutting or delaying retirement benefits for any senior in or near retirement,” Republican members write in the proposal. “With insolvency approaching in the 10-year budget window, Congress has a moral and practical obligation to address the problems with Social Security.”
“The RSC Budget & Spending Task Force cannot be more clear: we will not now or ever support cutting or delaying retirement benefits for any senior in or near retirement.”
Fiscal Sanity to Save America
Additionally, Republicans state that the RSC budget would make “modest changes” to primary insurance amount (PIA) benefit formulas for individuals who are not close to retirement and earn over the wealthiest PIA factor. According to the Social Security Administration, primary insurance amount benefits involve the amount of Social Security benefits paid to a retiree at their full retirement age.
Other proposed changes include “auxiliary benefits for high income earners, and gradually moving towards a flat benefit,” along with reforms to disability insurance (DI) that would “convert DI payments to a flat benefit structure that increases benefits for low-income workers and removes benefit cliffs.” The RSC says it would also expand access to private disability insurance.
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