WASHINGTON – This week, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a non-profit, non-partisan organization, released a new report detailing how former President Donald Trump’s proposed policies, if enacted, would render Social Security insolvent in six years. Expand Social Security Caucus House Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), John B. Larson (CT-01), and Debbie Dingell (MI-06) released the following statement:

 “Social Security is a cornerstone of economic stability for millions of Americans, providing essential financial support to retirees, disabled individuals, and survivors of deceased workers. Trump’s proposed policies are a non-starter. If implemented, they would eliminate revenue streams used to help finance Social Security and accelerate the depletion of Social Security funding. We will fight back against any attempts to weaken Social Security and stop Trump’s policies that would cause devastating, irrevocable damage to an institution that millions of Americans depend on.”

“Maintaining the solvency of Social Security is vital for promoting economic security, and a moral obligation to honor the commitments made to those who have contributed to the system throughout their working lives. To safeguard the future of Social Security, we cannot allow for Trump’s policies to gut these hard-earned benefits and instead must engage in a simple reform like the Social Security 2100 Act that fixes insolvency by having the wealthy pay into the system the same as everyone else.”

According to CRFB’s new report, If President Trump’s agenda were enacted in full it would shrink Social Security solvency by one-third, to only six years.

Proposals from President Trump that would weaken Social Security’s finances include:

• Ending taxation of Social Security benefits, which would eliminate a revenue stream currently used to help finance Social Security.
• Ending all taxes on overtime pay and tips, which would reduce payroll tax collection accruing to the Social Security trust funds.
• Imposing large tariffs on imports, which would either increase cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) through higher inflation or reduce taxable payroll.
• Enhancing border security and deporting unauthorized immigrants, which would reduce the number of immigrant workers paying into the Social Security trust funds.

President Trump’s proposals to eliminate taxation of Social Security benefits, end taxes on tips and overtime, impose tariffs, and expand deportations would all widen Social Security’s cash deficits. Under CRFB’s central estimate, they find that President Trump’s agenda would:

• Increase Social Security’s ten-year cash shortfall by $2.3 trillion through FY 2035.
• Advance insolvency by three years, from FY 2034 to FY 2031 – hastening the next President’s insolvency timeline by one-third.
• Lead to a 33 percent across-the-board benefit cut in 2035, up from the 23 percent CBO projects under current law.
• Increase Social Security’s annual shortfall by roughly 50 percent in FY 2035, from 3.6 to 4 percent of payroll.
• Require the equivalent of reducing current law benefits by about one-third or increasing revenue by about one-half to restore 75-year solvency.

Read the CRFB’s full findings on President Trump’s proposed policies on Social Security here.