WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) issued the following statement on the nomination of former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to be Commissioner of the Social Security Administration:
“Any nominee for Social Security Administration Commissioner must be committed to addressing the program’s solvency issues now, not pass it along to the next administration. In less than a decade, all current and future retirees will face a 24% cut in Social Security benefits. We need leadership to responsibly solve this fiscal crisis and I look forward to discussing my ‘Big Idea’ to save, strengthen and secure America’s retirement program during the confirmation process,” said Dr. Cassidy.
Background
Cassidy is leading a bipartisan working group with U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) to preserve and protect Social Security.
This Spring, he released the inaugural, Bill on the Hill video, where he asked Capitol Hill visitors from across the country their thoughts on the looming 24% benefit cut to Social Security and presented his “Big Idea” to save, strengthen, and secure America’s retirement system.
At a Senate Finance Hearing in March, he questioned U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the Biden administration’s lack of a plan to address Social Security at a Senate Finance hearing. He also delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling on President Biden to honor his pledge to protect Social Security and meet with a bipartisan group of senators currently discussing options to save the program.
Cassidy has outlined his Social Security plan in a fireside chat with the Bipartisan Policy Committee and authored an op-ed in the National Review.
In March, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds moved up the Social Security insolvency deadline a full year. One month prior, the Congressional Budget Office updated its estimates saying Social Security is heading toward a financial cliff in 2032. They found Medicare and Social Security spending rapidly outpacing federal tax revenues further hastening the insolvency deadlines.
###