Social Security
Many seniors live on a fixed income, and I know how important their Social Security checks are for their medicines and day-to-day living expenses. Unfortunately, Social Security is now paying out more in benefits than it collects in payroll taxes. Based on current forecasts, Social Security can only pay full benefits until 2035, after which it will pay just 80 percent of its promised benefits.
The government must honor the promises it has made to those who have retired or are reaching retirement soon. I am committed to addressing the challenges facing Social Security so that we may sustain and protect the program for current beneficiaries and future retirees. No program does more to ensure that every American can have a decent retirement.
I believe a good place to start would be passage of legislation I have introduced for multiple Congresses, the Bipartisan Social Security Commission Act. The bill calls for a bipartisan, bicameral commission tasked with recommending reforms to ensure Social Security is solvent for at least 75 years. Congress would then be required to vote up or down on the commission’s recommendations within 60 legislative days.
More on Social Security
This week the 115th Congress will be sworn in and will immediately be faced with a host of challenges and opportunities. I am honored to serve another term as the Representative for the Fourth District of Oklahoma. When I was first elected in 2002, I was proud to serve with a Republican Administration and in the majority party in Congress. Six years later my party was the minority party and the United States had elected a Democratic president. In November 2016, the voters elected a Republican president and Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.
As long as President Obama is in office and Republicans control Congress, the nation will remain in an era of divided government. Given our system of checks and balances, true negotiation must take place and real compromise must be reached to govern effectively. And like I’ve said on numerous occasions, neither side can ever get all that it wants in a negotiation. In fact, in a true negotiation you’ll always get less than you want and give up more than you’d like.
The Department of Treasury and Office of Management and Budget recently reported that the annual federal deficit had declined to its lowest level in years. At first glance, this sounds like very good news, and predictably President Obama was quick to claim it as his victory. However, even though the report certainly signals that some responsible choices have been made to slow the rate of spending, the reality is that the government still consistently spends outside its means and in so doing adds to our country’s already heavy burden of debt.
Oklahoma Economic Report - Congressman Tom Cole
Perhaps the most daunting issue that we face as Americans is the massive amount of public debt that exists and the rate at which it is growing. Certainly, the staggering number of nearly $18.4 trillion calls for real solutions to change the debt trajectory. In an effort to return our nation to fiscally-firm footing, it’s important to consider how we reached this point while also recognizing the areas where we’ve been successful.
Ada News - Eric Swanson
Lawmakers have floated several proposals for fixing Social Security, such as raising the eligibility age and increasing the income levels subject to Social Security taxes, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole said Thursday.
Cole also said he was optimistic that Congress would find a solution to Social Security’s financial woes.
“I think in the end, the public will force people to the table,” he said.
For decades, Social Security has brought peace of mind to generations of American retirees and disabled citizens. From that first paycheck and onward into every stage of working life, Social Security is an investment program that has served tens of millions of American workers. But as we are all too aware, the program’s ability to keep the same promise to future generations of American workers is in grave danger.
The Oklahoman - Editorial Board
NO, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole isn’t bored and simply looking for a challenge. Instead Cole, R-Moore, says his decision to try to come up with a way to keep Social Security afloat is based on a firm belief that it can be done.
“The problem is it’s easily fixed,” Cole said in an interview last week. “It’s the politics that’s hard.”
The Hill - Rebecca Shabad
A Social Security fund that provides benefits to nearly nine million disabled people is projected to run out by the end of 2016, and a new House rule could cause headaches for majority Republicans during the upcoming push to shore it up.
The rule, which the House passed earlier this month, puts up a procedural roadblock against legislation that would redistribute the payroll tax to replenish the Social Security Disability Insurance Trust Fund.