Congress is currently engulfed in another fight over the debt ceiling, and leaders in Washington are scrambling to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt obligations.
Unfortunately, some lawmakers are using the ongoing debt ceiling dilemma to call for cuts to essential healthcare and retirement programs. Those policy plans include legislation that would make it easier for Congress to slash critical programs like Social Security and Medicare and the benefits they provide to millions of older Americans.
One such bill is the TRUST Act, introduced last Congress by Senators Mitt Romney and Joe Manchin, that would allow a small group of lawmakers operating behind closed doors to fast-track legislation through Congress cutting Medicare and Social Security, programs that provide essential benefits that millions of Americans use to receive life-saving health care and make ends meet in retirement.
While the legislation failed to earn the support needed to pass last Congress, unfortunately, as the debt ceiling fight has ramped up in recent weeks, some lawmakers have attempted to revive the bill, and Manchin has even spoken directly with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy about the TRUST Act as a solution.
The TRUST Act poses a direct threat to the benefits millions of older Americans rely on every day. Under the TRUST Act, so-called “rescue committees” would be given the authority to fast-track bills weakening healthcare and retirement benefits, including proposals to cut Medicare funding or raise the retirement age, while sidestepping the normal amendment and debate process most bills are required to go through. This means that a small handful of lawmakers would essentially be able to slash Social Security and Medicare funds behind closed doors and ram them through Congress without any transparency to the voters.
While Senator Manchin has stated he doesn’t want Social Security cuts, the TRUST Act could make them a reality. Those cuts would impact the 66 million Americans who received Social Security benefits in 2022 as well as the 63 million Americans enrolled in Medicare. In West Virginia alone, about 480,000 residents rely on Social Security, and nearly a quarter of the state receives health care through Medicare. Here in Senator Romney’s home state of Utah, over 430,000 people receive Social Security and Medicare benefits.
Older voters in West Virginia, here in Utah, and all across America have spent decades working hard to pay into Social Security, and millions of Americans rely on Medicare to receive life-saving health care. If it wants to solve the debt ceiling crisis, Congress should avoid bills like the TRUST Act and find other ways to financial stability while keeping good faith with older Americans.
Clark Caras is a partner in Caras Ranch, Centennial Ranch Spanish Fork and a Utah County Republican state delegate
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