New Bill Sets Up 'Fast Track' for Social Security Cuts, Critics Say

Bipartisan legislation introduced Thursday, the Fiscal Stability Act, would set up a fiscal commission to address the nation's national debt and make "fast track" changes to Social Security, critics say, including possible cuts to the program.

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said the "proposed commission is Robin Hood in reverse — multi-millionaire Senators plotting to steal working people's earned Social Security and Medicare benefits behind closed doors.

"Anyone who supports this commission is supporting cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and we will make sure the American people know it," Altman explained.

The bill was introduced by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah.

Other senators co-sponsoring the bill are John Cornyn, R-Texas; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming; Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire; Kyrsten Sinema, I-Arizona; Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina; Mark Warner, D-Virginia; and Todd Young, R-Indiana.

A similar bill was introduced in the House by the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum Co-Chairs, Reps. Bill Huizenga, R-Michigan and Scott Peters, D-California.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget applauded the introduction of the bill Thursday, stating that "historically, commissions have played pivotal roles in safeguarding Social Security, improving military efficiency, enhancing national security, innovating tax code improvements, and guiding the national discourse on fiscal policy."

"The commission's primary mission would be to produce a plan to improve the nation's fiscal trajectory with bipartisan backing," according to MacGuineas.

The Committee explained that the commission "is supposed to recommend policies that keep publicly held debt below the size of the economy by 2039."

Language in the bill indicates "that if the commission recommends changes to trust fund programs, which could include Social Security, the commission recommendations should improve the solvency of those programs," the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said.

If passed, the commission would include 16 members — 12 lawmakers and four non-voting external experts, who would be appointed by the leadership from both parties in the House and Senate.

'Fast Track' Changes

Dan Adcock, director of Government Relations and Policy at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, blasted the legislation in a comment shared Thursday with ThinkAdvisor.

"This is yet another re-warmed proposal to create a fiscal commission that would scrutinize, among other programs, Social Security in the name of 'debt reduction,'" Adcock told ThinkAdvisor.

Social Security "is completely self-funded by American workers and does not add a penny to the debt. Commissions of this kind are nothing more than a ploy to give lawmakers political cover for cutting benefits that workers earn in every paycheck," Adcock said.

"In addition, this legislation includes 'fast-track' language that would allow changes to Social Security to be expedited through Congress outside of regular order, which we have long opposed," Adcock explained.

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