Re:Social Security-Dems’ Attacks-Demagoguery, Obstructionist

The purpose of the Stop Over-Spending Act is to restore order to our financial house and make the government affordable for its citizens, especially for younger people who will be working to support the next generation as it retires. This package has been grossly misrepresented by the other side of the aisle.

The minority’s attacks through the demagoguery of Social Security are not responsible. That’s not governance. That’s simply obstructionism for the sake of political gain. I think it’s appropriate to point out what the facts are, versus what they believe the politics should be.

The bill’s Commission on Entitlement Solvency is not a “back-door” to privatize Social Security. Rather, it represents a bipartisan approach to address the well known fact that the entitlements programs are growing at an unsustainable rate. We currently have obligations to retirees that will cost $65 trillion more than the government’s income under the present projections. The Commission’s only instruction is to ensure the solvency of the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs.

If put in place today, the Commission would be comprised of eight Republicans and seven Democrats. Furthermore, it takes two-thirds of the commission to put together a report to be able to be sent under expedited procedures, procedures that ensure 50 hours of debate. The legislative provision in the report can be amended by Democrat and Republican alike. There is absolutely no requirement that Congress must accept the Commission report as is, each member of the Senate has the ability to amend the report. Finally and most notably, it would take 60 votes to pass the report.

Bottom line: it takes a bipartisan supermajority for the Commission to report out recommendations for Congress to consider, Congress can amend those recommendations and it takes another bipartisan supermajority, after 50 hours of debate, to pass the plan to make our entitlement systems solvent.

The Commission represents an eminently reasonable, bipartisan attempt to reverse the direction in which we’re inevitably heading. If we stay on the current course and continue to do nothing, we will eliminate the capacity of our children to afford the government.