Progressive Democrats and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reintroduced a bill on Monday that would boost Social Security benefits and strengthen the program’s finances solely through taxing corporations and the wealthy.
Sanders has previously introduced similar bills, including one in 2022, but the most recent iteration of the proposal is released in the midst of a national discussion about Social Security between President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans.
Social Security Benefits Debate
President Joe Biden has charged that Republicans want to use debt ceiling negotiations to compel cuts to the well-liked program by seizing on ideas like Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s proposal to require Congress to renew all federal programs every five years and a House GOP proposal to raise the program’s eligibility age.
President Joe Biden appeared ready to accept the concession last week during the State of the Union address, but the GOP has vehemently denied that it would bring up Social Security in discussions about raising the debt ceiling.
By challenging Republicans to consider the possibility of both increased benefits and significant tax increases, Sanders’ legislation furthers the leftward shift of the current Social Security debate.
The Social Security Expansion Act, put forth by Senators Sanders (I-Vt.) and Warren (D-Mass.) and Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Val Hoyle (D-Ore.) in the House, would add an extra $2,400 to beneficiaries’ annual benefits and guarantee the program’s full funding through the year 2096.
According to a Social Security Administration analysis requested by Sanders, the bill would achieve this by raising the upper limit on the amount of income subject to the Social Security payroll tax. This change would not result in higher taxes for the 93% of American households that earn $250,000 or less annually.
Millionaires will stop paying into the Social Security system later this month because the payroll tax is currently not applied to annual earnings over $160,200.
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Jan Schakowsky Warns About Increase
The legislation suggests raising this threshold and imposing the Social Security payroll tax on all earnings exceeding $250,000.
The nation’s top 11 highest-paid CEOs would have contributed more than $3.4 billion to the fund if the legislation had been passed in 2021, including Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Twitter, who would have contributed $2.9 billion.
Schakowsky sounded the alarm, saying that my Republican colleagues are plotting to reduce benefits and raise the retirement age rather than working to defend Social Security.
According to the most recent annual Social Security trustees report, the program has a $2.85 trillion surplus in its trust fund, allowing it to pay 100% of promised benefits through 2035, 90% for the next 25 years, and 80% for the following 75 years, in contrast to the claims of GOP lawmakers who are clamoring to cut benefits and delay eligibility.
Read more: Protect Medicare, Social Security as Republican senator warns Congress
