Thursday, March 26, 2020
byCommon Dreams
House Democrats Urged to Remove 'Insidious Attack' on Social Security Hidden
Within Senate Coronavirus Bill
"The only way to escape this trap is to avoid stepping into it in the first
place. That's why the House must remove the cut to Social Security's
dedicated funding before this bill passes."
byJake Johnson, staff writer
"The Democrats are walking right into the trap," Michael Phelan, deputy
director of Social Security Works, warned in an email before the Senate
passed its massive coronavirus stimulus bill Wednesday night. (Photo:
AFGE/Flickr/cc)
Progressives are demanding that the Democrat-controlled House of
Representatives prioritize removing a little-noticed provision in the
massive Senate-passed coronavirus stimulus bill that would allow employers
to stop paying into Social Security for at least the rest of the
year-potentially threatening the program's long-term financial health.
"If Trump and Republicans retain power after November's elections, they will
make sure that corporations never repay Social Security."
-Michael Phelan, Social Security Works
Section 2302 of the nearly 900-page legislation would let companies defer
until next year their payment of the employer payroll tax, one of the
primary funding mechanisms for Social Security. The bill would require that
companies pay 50% of their owed 2020 payroll taxes by December 31, 2021.
While the section has thus far received little media attention, advocacy
group Social Security Works said the language authorizes an "insidious
attack" on the New Deal-era program and must be stripped out before final
passage.
The House is expected to vote on the bill as early as Friday.
"The Democrats are walking right into the trap," Michael Phelan, deputy
director of Social Security Works, warned in an email Wednesday night ahead
of the Senate vote. "If Trump and Republicans retain power after November's
elections, they will make sure that corporations never repay Social
Security. Then, Republicans will use the reduced trust fund as an excuse to
destroy our Social Security system."
"The only way to escape this trap is to avoid stepping into it in the first
place," said Phelan. "That's why the House must remove the cut to Social
Security's dedicated funding before this bill passes."
Social Security Works urged the public to call their representatives and
pressure them to remove the employer payroll tax deferral:
In a letter to senators last week, Max Richtman, president and CEO of the
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, denounced the
proposal to defer employer payroll taxes as a serious threat to "Social
Security's ability to pay future benefits to 64 million Americans."
"Social Security is an earned benefit fully funded by the contributions of
workers throughout their working lives," said Richtman. "A payroll tax
suspension or deferral chips away at that fundamental idea, making it easier
each time it is enacted to turn to it again to meet some future crisis,
until the payroll tax is permanently eliminated."
Linda Benesch, communications director for Social Security Works, told
Common Dreams Thursday that whether or not the attack on Social Security is
stripped from the Senate bill, the group plans to fight alongside its allies
in the Congressional Progressive Caucus to ensure that an expansion of
Social Security benefits is included in an expected fourth stimulus package.
Social Security Works president Nancy Altman last week called on Congress to
adopt a proposal introduced by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden
(D-Ore.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that would
increase by $200 the monthly Social Security benefit for all recipients
through the end of 2021.
"This will help beneficiaries afford housing, food, medicines, and other
vital needs during this challenging time," said Altman. "As a byproduct, it
showcases Social Security's efficiency and reach, which are so needed in
this moment."
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