PROMISE Act Jumpstarts Path Toward Saving Social Security

Today, Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the PROMISE Act, legislation to establish a process for restoring solvency to Social Security. The bill would instruct the bipartisan Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB) to submit a “base bill” to extend solvency and then establish a process for Congress to consider, amend, and potentially pass the bill. Absent an SSAB proposal, the legislation allows the House and Senate majority leaders to put forward their own base bill, or else any bipartisan pair in the House or Senate may do so. Initial and final legislation would be required to achieve at least 50-year solvency, and a new decennial solvency review process would also be created.

Last month, Reps. Cole (R-OK) and Suozzi (D-NY) introduced the Bipartisan Social Security Commission Act, which would create a new commission tasked with rescuing Social Security from insolvency.

Absent action, Social Security’s retirement trust fund is projected to run out of reserves in late 2032, at which point beneficiaries would face an abrupt 22% cut to their benefits – which is the equivalent of roughly $500 per month if it happened today (see state-by-state analysis).

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: 

Social Security is only six years from insolvency – we need action to save it, yesterday. The PROMISE Act would establish a thoughtful bipartisan process to help Congress do its job and rescue Social Security before it’s too late.  

Social Security is the bedrock of our nation’s retirement system, and Washington’s failure to secure its finances has put the retirement security of tens of millions of seniors in jeopardy. Any credible effort to help save Social Security – whether through a commission, the Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB), specific policies, or committee process – is a step in the right direction.

These proposals keep Congress and the public involved in this important process. Hopefully they can give our leaders the kick in the pants they need to start working together to secure Social Security for current and future generations.  

SSAB is a credible bipartisan entity that – along with its predecessor, the Social Security Quadrennial Advisory Council – has a history of putting forward thoughtful recommendations for reform. And if they don’t succeed, the PROMISE Act has a failsafe process to keep the reform discussion in Congress moving forward.

Social Security is going to need to collect more revenue, slow projected cost growth, or some combination. There’s no magic third alternative that doesn’t involve borrowing hundreds of trillions of dollars and thrusting the country into a debt spiral. We can’t simply ignore this problem – it’s not going away, it’s approaching rapidly, and every day we wait makes the problem harder to solve with fewer options available to do so.  

Promising not to touch Social Security is just an implicit endorsement of a 22% across-the-board benefit cut.

The Senators and Representatives who have put forward these proposals should be applauded for their willingness to speak up on the need for real solutions. We hope that it jumpstarts a much-needed process to secure Social Security.

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For more information, please contact Matt Klucher, Assistant Director for Media Relations, at klucher@crfb.org.