Lawmakers got another grim reminder about the looming budget shortfall facing Social Security after decades of inaction in Washington.
by AUSTIN DENEAN | The National News DeskPHILADELPHIA - FEBRUARY 11: Blank Social Security checks are run through a printer at the U.S. Treasury printing facility February 11, 2005 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
As U.S. President George W. Bush travels the country to stump for his plan to change the Social Security system, opposition continues from some members of Congress and senior citizen groups concerned that the proposal would erode guarantees to the federal retirement program. Social Security’s finances are in poor shape and on a fast-track toward insolvency, putting a program that has been a cornerstone of financial stability for more than 70 million Americans at risk for the next generation of retirees if lawmakers do not intervene. Congress has received warnings for years about the state of America’s popular entitlement programs but struggled to pass any reforms into law. There hasn’t been Social Security reform since the Reagan administration in 1983, a choice that has led the program’s finances to slowly deteriorate. Without changes to the retirement age, taxes or limiting benefits, retirees are staring down an automatic benefits cut when the trust fund runs out. “This program means a lot to people,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, said during a Wednesday hearing focused on the future of Social Security. “If we do nothing, then shame on us all, because nothing has a very severe consequence on people can afford it the least.” The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a report this month that it expected the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, one of the two funds used to pay benefits, will run out in 2032, a year earlier than initially expected. The projections mean senators elected this November will have to confront a budget shortfall that has been evident but unaddressed for decades. Once the fund is depleted, recipients would see an average of a 28% cut to monthly benefits, according to projections by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Without changes to the program, today’s soon-to-be retirees will see their benefits cut by 20-25%. “To ensure that Social Security remains solvent for further generations, Congress and the administration need to act,” said Karen Glenn, the Social Security Administration’s chief actuary. The root of the issue threatening its solvency is an aging population and lower birth rate. Today’s seniors are living longer, while fewer Americans are having children who enter the workforce and pay taxes to finance the system. That imbalance has been building for decades. For many retirees, Social Security represents a significant share of their income. But implementing changes to make Social Security entirely self-sufficient while maintaining current benefit levels would require massive changes to current policies. “No one provision is likely to eliminate all of the projected financial shortfall,” said Barry Huston, a social policy specialist for the Congressional Research Service. Lawmakers have also made other changes that have altered the income and outlays for Social Security. Most recently, Republicans cut the income tax rate paid by seniors in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reduced the revenue coming into Social Security’s trust fund. The Social Security Fairness Act, a bipartisan bill that passed in January 2025, also increased the shortfall by nearly $200 billion over 10 years. Both parties have vowed to protect Social Security and Medicare, which is facing its own financial woes, though neither have been able to gather the political will necessary to implement reforms. Many of the reforms to shore up their finances are politically unpopular and become the subject of attack ads during election season, even though there is broad bipartisanmakes the necessary adjustments more severe the longer lawmakers wait. It also makes it more likely that Congress will need to dip into general funds to keep the programs whole, a significant departure from the pay-as-you-go model it has operated on since its inception. “The more we wait, the harder it gets,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who has proposed creating an investment fund to cover at least part of the shortfall. “Are we going to fulfill our obligations to the American people in a way which is both politically and by policy viable to fix Social Security not just now but for future generations?”among lawmakers over the last four decades without major reform. Fixing the shortfall would require some combination of higher taxes, lower benefits or both. Lawmakers have suggested raising the retirement age, implementing means-testing so benefits don’t go to wealthy Americans, raising the cap on income taxes and investing in financial markets, among other ideas. But none have been able to clear both chambers and be signed into law, putting Congress on a clock to act.“It's easy to fall into partisan corners on a lot of issues, including this one, but we have to be talking in an open and bipartisan way about solving the problem,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.Columbus police responded to a shooting on Lockbourne Road early Wednesday morning.Few details were immediately available, but ABC6 confirmed the shooting tA body found floating in Big Walnut Creek by passerby Sunday has been identified as Angela Fair. The deceased was identified by the Franklin County Coroner.FaiA Gahanna police officer under investigation for drunk driving is off the job for good.Twenty-nine-year-old Brenda Johnson has resigned after being relieved ofFormer Ohio State player Kirk Barton is set to plead guilty in connection with a fatal crash in Dublin last year, his attorney says.Two people were charged in connection with a suspected OVI and wrong-way crash that killed a youth advocate, with one of them allegedly having a BAC of .133.
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