WASHINGTON—The ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans over Social Security reached a new high point Wednesday, when Sen. Mitt Romney grilled a White House budget official during a hearing.
A heated exchange between Romney and Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Budget and Management, exposed both major parties’ finger pointing.
Politicians in Washington have been accusing each other of making decisions that will jeopardize the long-term viability of entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
President Joe Biden has accused Republicans of wanting to cut those programs, including during his State of the Union address, despite GOP leaders and rank-and-file members saying they are not on the table.
What did Romney say about the solvency of Social Security?
On Wednesday, Romney shifted the focus back to the president, noting that Social Security is expected to run out of money sooner than expected in 2032.
Young stated that she was aware of the deficit.
“Well, then, why is there no effort to address that in the president’s budget?” Romney asked Young.
He cut off Young’s response, which was pivoting to say that some members had called for cuts, to ask again: “Why doesn’t the president’s budget lay out how you would protect Social Security?”
Biden, according to Young, “believes the biggest threat to Social Security is those who want to cut it, and his budget says no.”
Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda D. Young testifies before the Senate Budget Committee March 15, 2023 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Young testified on U.S. President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal during the hearing.
(Photo: Win McNamee, Getty Images)
Who wants to reduce Social Security benefits?
Romney rejected the budget director’s claim that she could provide Republican proposals to cut Social Security from some of the members’ websites.
He pressed her on whether any of the proposals came from current senators or members of the House.
“Yes,” Young confirmed. “Have they shifted their position? Perhaps, but yes.”
That, according to Romney, is “simply wrong, and it’s not honest to say that to members of Congress.”
“Nobody on this committee wants to cut it,” he explained. “I’m not aware of any Republican or Democrat in the House or Senate proposing to cut Social Security benefits, and it’s dishonest to keep saying it; it’s offensive, dishonest, and unreal.”
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a frequent target of the White House, amended his contentious proposal to sunset all federal programs every five years last month, claiming that it was “never intended” to cut Social Security or Medicare.(Photo: [ JOHN RAOUX | AP ]
Senator Rick Scott’s previous Social Security proposal
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a frequent target of the White House, amended his contentious proposal to sunset all federal programs every five years last month, claiming it was “never intended” to cut Social Security or Medicare.
In February, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stated that any proposal to sunset Social Security and Medicare belongs to Sen. Rick Scott, not the GOP.
“Unfortunately, that was the Scott plan; that is not a Republican plan,” McConnell said last month on a Kentucky radio show.
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