As the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare announced the launch of a new voter education campaign, “Social Security is on the Ballot,” a group of four senior senators issued a bipartisan statement saying elected leaders in Congress can’t delay any longer—they need get to work on addressing Social Security’s looming insolvency.
U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), and U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) released the statement Wednesday in response to Tuesday’s release of the Social Security Board of Trustees’ report showing that the Social Security Trust Fund will face insolvency in 2032 absent Congressional action.
“It’s clear now that Congress shouldn’t delay any longer. Several of us have been coming together to talk about how we can strengthen Social Security for current and future generations of retirees. We say to our colleagues: join us in doing what we were elected to do—legislate on hard issues and protect this lifeline program for our kids and grandkids. Congress has no shortage of ideas, we just need to actually debate them and vote.”
Durbin, the Senate Democratic Whip, also gave a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday calling on Congress to act to save Social Security.
He said the average Social Security check in the United States is around $2,500. If you reduce it by 22%, people will receive about $450 less each month—about what an average senior household spends on groceries each month.
“That could be devastating. We cannot let it happen,” Durbin said.
He said lawmakers must find a way to debate this issue in a transparent, fair and bipartisan manner.
“We do not have a shortage of ideas. What we lack is the will to do it. Good ideas are out there, but we need to come together on a bipartisan basis and agree on a path that buys 50 years of solvency at a minimum,” Durbin said. “Let’s not run away from this responsibility any more. Let’s not say it’s somebody else’s problem. We were elected to solve problems, and there’s no greater problem than the solvency and future of Social Security.”
Both Republican senators who were a part of the joint statement, Cassidy and Tillis, are set to leave the Senate at the end of the current congressional session. Tillis announced last year that he would not seek reelection following a public dispute with President Trump over the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” while Cassidy was recently defeated in his state primary race by a Trump-backed challenger.
The joint statement was also issued after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Monday that Republicans would advance a plan in 2027 to address the ballooning cost of mandatory spending programs including Social Security.
“The reason we are in trouble is because over 74% of federal spending is on autopilot, mandatory spending,” Johnson told the “Moon Griffon Show” Monday. “That’s your entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and then things like Social Security. They have to be adjusted and fixed. We have a plan to do that next year.”
With insolvency now forecast to occur within 6 years, many have noted that U.S. senators elected in November will be in office through 2032. There will be 33 seats in the senate up for election on Nov. 3, 2026.
With this in mind, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare announced the launch of its new “Social Security is on the Ballot” voter education campaign.
“The stakes for current and future seniors couldn’t be higher. Depending on the composition of the next Congress, Social Security could be strengthened (and expanded)—or radically cut and privatized,” said NCPSSM President and CEO Max Richtman. “It all depends on which course Congress takes, and that depends on your vote.”
The organization said it’s not enough for candidates to claim that they “support” Social Security, as almost every politician will say so. “Our new campaign will help voters identify candidates who champion positive, revenue-side solutions (including adjusting the payroll wage cap), so that the wealthy begin contributing their fair share,” states a press release announcing the voter education campaign.
“We will advise against voting for any candidate who supports cutting Social Security—whether via means testing, raising the retirement age, or adopting a more miserly COLA formula. Privatization—gambling workers’ payroll contributions on Wall Street—is a non-starter. Full stop.”
The multi-faceted campaign will encompass social media, short web videos, special editions of NCPSSM’s “You Earned This” podcast and radio show, mailings, and grass roots engagement/activism.
“There are many issues competing for voters’ attention this year, but few will have such a profound effect on your future,” Richtman said. “Voters should insist that the fundamental promise of Social Security be preserved—as the program is strengthened for the future.”
Consequences of inaction
The 2026 Trustees report shows that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund used to pay retirement benefits to over 60 million Americans will be able to pay 100% of total scheduled benefits until the fourth quarter of 2032, one quarter earlier than projected in last year’s report. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 78% of total scheduled benefits. That means beneficiaries would see their monthly benefit checks reduced by 22% if no reforms are made.
As the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget pointed out this week in its analysis of the 2026 Trustees Report, Social Security cannot legally spend more than its revenues and assets, necessitating a 22% cut in retirement benefits when OASI’s trust fund is exhausted. That would grow to 38% at the end of the century. CRFB previously estimated the impact of a similar cut, finding that a typical couple retiring in 2033 would face an $18,400 annual reduction to their benefits.
During a Joint Social Security and Work & Welfare Subcommittee Hearing with Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano on Wednesday, Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) noted that the last time Social Security benefits were changed was 1983. But the time is now to address this problem.
“Congress needs to get their act together to address Social Security and the insolvency that’s coming instead of poking blame at other people when it is our duty, our responsibility,” Smith said. “I hope, Commissioner, our colleagues will come together—both Republican and Democrat—to do it for those people who rely on Social Security.”
SEE ALSO:
• 2026 Social Security Trustees Report Moves Insolvency to 2032
• Social Security Insolvency Could Trigger $500 Average Monthly Benefit Cut by 2032
• Experts Forecast Social Security COLA Jumps of 3.8% and 4.7%