On Wednesday, Senator Mitt Romney (R., Utah) sparred with President Joe Biden’s budget director, Shalanda Young, about her “dishonest” claims that Republicans want to cut Social Security and Medicare.
According to Romney, who questioned Young as part of a Senate Budget Committee hearing, no Republican in the House or Senate supports such cuts. He also said Biden’s budget does not contain any serious proposals to protect Social Security from automatic cuts when the trust fund runs out in a decade.
The Congressional Budget Office released a report last month projecting that Social Security’s funds are to run a shortfall in 2032, sooner than previously expected. Romney said during the hearing that “benefits would be cut dramatically, like 25 percent.”
CBO Director Phillip Swagel told the Hill that benefits “would be more than 20 percent smaller than scheduled, if outlays are limited to what is payable after this trust fund exhaustion.”
“Are you aware of any one of the elected officials we have in the federal government, in Congress . . . that have . . . currently proposed cutting benefits for Social Security of any kind?” Romney asked Young, clarifying that he was specifically inquiring about statements in recent months.
“Current members have well-known policies out there to cut Social Security and Medicare,” Young replied, explaining that there are policies on the websites of members that she could print out and bring to the committee’s attention. Whether the elected officials have changed their positions is another thing, she said.
“That is simply wrong,” countered Romney. “It’s not honest to say that to members of Congress . . . There is no [Republican or Democrat in the House or the Senate] who’s recommending cutting Social Security benefits . . . It’s offensive and dishonest and not realistic. We have a problem in Social Security. We need to address it.”
The two were also at loggerheads on the question of what the biggest threat to Social Security is.
“The biggest threat to Social Security is those who want to cut it,” said Young, adding that Biden’s budget will protect against this.
“I really find that offensive in the extreme,” replied Romney. “You can’t name anyone who is proposing cutting Social Security benefits . . . The biggest threat is in ten years or so the Social Security trust fund runs out, and benefits get automatically cut by 25 percent. We don’t want that to happen.”
The Administration is doing nothing to protect Social Security, which faces impending insolvency. Benefits will be cut automatically without action! They should stop spreading dishonest claims that Republicans want to cut benefits & start working with us on bipartisan solutions. pic.twitter.com/8aQDgyOVxF
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) March 15, 2023
On a separate note, the Utah senator attacked the budget for purporting to reduce spending.
“It’s embarrassing to suggest the president has reduced the size of the deficit or reduced spending as a percentage of GDP. When we had Covid, when we were in the midst of Covid, we passed extraordinary measures,” Romney said.
“I think if you’re serious about discussing the budget, putting Covid funding aside is essential for that conversation,” he added.