Senator Bill Cassidy is not happy with the top contenders in the 2024 race — and thinks both Donald Trump and Joe Biden should be “disqualified” for pretending to care about Social Security.
“They are willing to risk the future of our country’s financial health and the financial health of seniors — to sacrifice it because they want to get re-elected,” Cassidy told DailyMail.com in an interview.
“That, in my opinion, should disqualify one of them from being elected.”
The pension program will run out of money by 2034 — with an automatic 24 percent reduction in benefits if it goes bankrupt.
But both Trump and Biden have turned Social Security into fodder to go after their political opponents, who they claim want to “cut” the government-run program — alarming Americans across the country.
Senator Bill Cassidy is not happy with the top contenders in the 2024 race — and thinks both Donald Trump and Joe Biden should be ‘disqualified’ for pretending to care about Social Security
But Cassidy takes the issue seriously and has been on a crusade to change the dialogue and push Social Security reform to the top of the ticket on both sides.
He is working with Senator Angus King, a Maine Independent who works with the Democrats, to bring together a bipartisan group of now about 14 senators who have committed to supporting program reform before the money runs out.
“We can’t move forward unless we have a presidential candidate who is willing to say he’s willing to cooperate with Congress,” the Louisiana Republican said in an interview with DailyMail.com.
Social Security became a political third prong when President Biden used the State of the Union address to claim that “some Republicans” “want Medicare and Social Security until sundown” — a comment that sparked raw GOP anger and even prompted Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to call Biden a liar.”
“So folks, as we all seem to agree, Social Security and Medicare are off the table now, right?” said Biden. “We have unanimity.”
Cassidy said that moment, coupled with Trump’s comments on the issue, reduced Capitol Hill’s appetite to discuss changes.
“For Trump’s State of the Union address and rhetoric, yes, we received excellent support from fellow Republicans and Democrats alike,” Cassidy said.
“But I found more political courage in my colleagues in the House and Senate than in the leading presidential candidates.”
Trump has blasted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as “the man who wants to abolish Social Security and health care” for a nonbinding resolution he introduced back in Congress that would raise the age to 70. He has repeatedly issued warnings fired at Republicans to “cut a penny out of the program.”
Meanwhile, Cassidy’s plan involves putting another $1.5 trillion into an investment fund and letting that money mature over the course of 70 years. The plan would cover 75 percent of the Social Security shortfall, assuming a higher rate of return than the cost of investment, which, Cassidy notes, “has been true since at least 1929.”
The current federal borrowing rate is 3.9 percent, but Cassidy said the fund would aim for an average growth rate of 8.5 percent.
On where the money comes from in the first place, the senator said he is open to input.
Cassidy said the federal government could sell its other assets that are “currently dormant.” “Either we could borrow the money, or there could be some sort of agreement to open some to open up a natural resource for development that is not currently developed.” Or you could raise taxes. Personally, I’m in favor of selling assets.’
He is unlikely to convince House Republicans, who have said amid tense debt ceiling negotiations that they would rather risk bankruptcy than drive the country further into debt, to get on board with increasing borrowing for the private fund.
Other ideas have been floated — namely raising the payroll tax cap above $160,000 and raising the retirement age — although they have not received serious consideration.
Social Security currently allows people to claim benefits starting at age 62, but benefits increase the longer a retiree waits.
When asked if potential presidential candidates were open to working on reforms, Cassidy replied, “Pence has an idea,” referring to the former vice president who has yet to formally launch a run.
“Before the State of the Union address and Trump rhetoric, yes, we were getting excellent buy-in from fellow Republicans and Democrats alike,” said Cassidy
Biden has gone after Republicans because they wanted to cut Social Security
Cassidy declined to say who he would support in the GOP primary, praising Senator Tim Scott — who launched his run on Monday — as a “good man” with “character,” but said he hadn’t discussed Social Security with him .
“It’s pretty clear that President Biden isn’t interested,” Cassidy said. His team has met with White House staffers, but was shot down when they asked to meet the president himself.
“They just listened, never came up with ideas,” Cassidy said of the White House staff.
Trump’s rhetoric makes it clear that he’s going to campaign and pretend there’s no problem. It’s completely unfair. He criticizes anyone who even talks about it, but again, that’s the dishonesty that the president is so good at and the former president is so good at.”
Cassidy, a gastroenterologist by trade, said he became concerned about the problem after 20 years of working with underinsured and uninsured elderly patients.
“I’m aware that our fellow Americans who depend on Social Security to stay out of poverty — if you look at what happens when there’s a 24 percent cut in benefits, the old-age poverty rate doubles — it’s doubling!” he said.
Right now, the senator is focusing on an advocacy campaign. He said he has an “almost complete” piece of legislation but is hesitant to let “dishonest” politicians use it to attack him and the other lawmakers on file.
“I can promise you we’ll put it out there instead of people acknowledging that this is a good faith effort to get the ball moving forward, they’d cling to one little thing they could demagogueise and then destroy everything.”
It will be a tough sell in the Democratic-controlled Senate to get Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to vote — or even win Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s support.
The CBO’s latest projections showed that the current gap between the funds’ expenditures and the revenues received – if continued for the next decade – will see the Social Security Fund officially reach zero
Social Security spending has risen as more Americans reach retirement age and leave the workforce, relying solely on fund benefits
According to the Congressional Budget Office’s latest projections, two of the funds will be depleted by 2033, while another major fund will be gone by 2048.
Everyone knows that unless the president endorses the concept, it will never be passed into law. And so no one is going to waste political capital or just make a statement,” Cassidy said of his conversations with leaders.
“So we’re just stamping along, hoping we can get a presidential candidate who has the courage to be honest with the American people and recognize that we have a solution that can address 75% of the problem,” the senator said. said.