Insider's Report: Radical Agenda Underway in Congress to Cut Benefits

While you and I and millions of Americans insist that the promise of Social Security and Medicare be upheld by our government, the fact remains that a radical agenda to slash earned benefits and privatize these vital programs is moving forward in the new Congress: The powerful congressional majority in Washington is pushing forward their version of how to fix or save Social Security and Medicare — and this really means cutting benefits and handing over control of these programs to private industry. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is leading the charge for ending traditional Medicare by privatizing it for the benefit of greedy insurance companies. We anticipate House Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (TX-03) will reintroduce legislation that would: 1) cut benefits by one-third, 2) raise the retirement age from 67 to 69, 3) change the benefit-computation formula in a way that cuts benefit amounts and 4) cut the Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA). Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Tom Price wants to trigger cuts to Social Security and Medicare. His agenda would enable automatic across-the-board cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs for low- and middle-income Americans. This plan would rig the system and slash benefits without requiring the President or Congress to take responsibility for the result.

What's worse, the President-elect's cabinet is full of Social Security and Medicare privatization supporters. In fact, Vice President-elect Mike Pence is a well-documented privatization proponent. President-elect Trump, who promised "not to touch" Social Security and Medicare during the campaign, advocates "reform" on his transition website and nominated a fervent privatizer, former U.S. Representative Tom Price, as Secretary of Health and Human Services. There can be no doubt that harmful bills targeting your earned benefits will quickly follow in the new Congress. That's why the National Committee is gathering millions of petition signatures demanding that Congress keeps its hands off of earned benefits. We are organizing phone banks and letter writing campaigns to our elected representatives. Borrowing a campaign idea from Mr. Trump, we also need to build a wall — a firewall to be specific — in the Senate, to ensure that none of the privatization or benefit-cutting legislation makes it out of Congress and up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The forces aiming to destroy our treasured social insurance programs are more insidious. The stakes are higher. But we can protect Social Security and Medicare and keep them solvent for the future without cutting benefits for millions of Americans if we organize, mobilize and make our voices heard on Capitol Hill.