Most of the time we hear things like cutting Social Security benefits or increasing the retirement age as potential measures regarding the stability of Social Security, so it’s somewhat refreshing when there is a proposal to actually increase Social Security benefits.
The new Democratically-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is not wasting anytime showing they mean business in regard to Social Security. Legislators introduced the Social Security 2100 Act which would increase benefits January 30, 2019 according to this story in the Huffington Post.
The bill was introduced by Reps. John Larson (Connecticut), Conor Lamb (Pennsylvania) and Jahana Hayes (Connecticut). The legislation promises to not only increase Social Security benefits across the board, but also to extend Social Security’s solvency for the next 75 years. To pay for the increase in benefits and the extension of solvency, the bill would lift the cap on income subjected to Social Security taxes. Right now high earners only pay a portion of Social Security taxes on their earnings.
The bill has already garnering widespread support from a lot of Democrats. According to the story, there are more than 200 Democrats signed-on including the influential chair of the House Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal. The House would need 218 votes to pass in the House and a companion bill would be needed in the Republican-controlled Senate before it is offered for President Donald Trump’s signature.
The architect of the bill is considered to be Larson, who is now the chair of the Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security. He has expressed confidence that the bill would pass the House and put pressure on the Senate because of support from outside advocates and the idea of actually increasing Social Security benefits is something that many people support.
“It’s a tribute to the grassroots effort that’s gone into this,” Larson said.
