AARP Hearing Center
AARP’s Top Advocate Takes Social Security Campaign to Capitol Hill
Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Nancy LeaMond called on lawmakers to debate the program’s future ‘in full view of the American public’
Video: AARP Testifies Before the Senate on Social Security
Key takeaways
- AARP’s top advocate will urge senators to address Social Security’s finances through an open, deliberative process — not through a special commission or short-circuited debate.
- Three pending bills would charge an outside panel or commission with the job of drafting legislation to address Social Security’s long-term financial health.
- AARP supports strengthening Social Security without benefit cuts, a position backed by 81 percent of older Americans.
AARP’s Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Nancy LeaMond called on Congress to shore up Social Security’s finances without enacting any cuts to benefits — and to do so in an open, transparent debate — during an Aug. 5 Senate hearing on the program’s future finances.
LeaMond’s testimony at a Senate Finance Committee hearing came as lawmakers weigh several bills that would give unelected boards or commissions the job of drafting legislation to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security’s trust funds and allow Congress to consider the proposals under rules that short-circuit the normal legislative process.
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“Our message today is simple: Protect and strengthen Social Security without cutting the benefits Americans have earned through a lifetime of work, and do this in Congress through regular order, in full view of the American people,” LeaMond told lawmakers in her opening remarks. “Social Security is far too important to be rushed, outsourced or decided behind closed doors.”
In a written statement provided to the committee ahead of the hearing, LeaMond said a truncated process “can become a glide path to [benefit] cuts that could not withstand consideration in full public view,” she adds.
What is being proposed?
At issue are three bills now pending in Congress:
- The Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone (PROMISE) Act would empower an existing body, the Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB), to write legislation to ensure the trust funds — currently projected to exhaust their surplus by 2034 — remain solvent for at least 50 years. That proposal would then be considered by Congress under expedited rules that curb amendments and cap debate.
- The Fiscal Commission Act would establish a new panel to propose measures aimed at reducing the national debt and annual deficits and shoring up the trust funds that support Social Security, Medicare and the national highway system. Those proposals would then be fast-tracked through Congress.
- The Bipartisan Social Security Commission Act would charge a 13-member commission with providing recommendations and legislation to Congress on how to bolster Social Security’s finances. Under that bill, lawmakers would then introduce the commission’s bill, and it would be subject to an up-or-down vote with no amendments allowed by individual lawmakers.
Proponents of these bills say they would jump-start a bipartisan process to address Social Security’s looming shortfall and help forge long-term solutions. But AARP opposes measures that would inhibit public scrutiny of proposed changes, shield lawmakers from accountability and make it easier to rush Social Security benefit cuts through Congress.
“The history of special commissions is littered with very good intentions and failed results,” LeaMond testified. “This committee has jurisdiction, the clout and a 90-year history of solving hard Social Security problems. And hearings like this one are exactly what will lead us from discussion to action.”
Several senators on the committee said they also opposed creating a commission, saying it amounted to “buck passing” by Congress and could make it harder for voters to weigh in on changes to Social Security.
Polls show support for AARP’s ‘no-cuts’ position
Social Security payments, which currently go to more than 71 million Americans, are primarily funded by payroll taxes levied on most U.S. workers and their employers. Additional revenue comes from income taxes on payments and interest on bonds that the trust funds hold in federally backed guaranteed securities.
In recent years, outgoing payments have exceeded payroll tax revenues, requiring Social Security to draw down trust fund reserves to meet its benefit obligations. Without congressional action, those reserves will be depleted in 2034, and the revenue flowing into Social Security will cover only about 83 percent of scheduled payments, according to the 2026 annual report from Social Security’s Board of Trustees.
Lawmakers can address the problem by increasing revenue, reducing outlays for benefit payments or a combination of both.
During the hearing, senators from both parties agreed that addressing Social Security’s finances is an urgent matter and that finding a solution would require forging a bipartisan consensus.
“Congress has a responsibility to protect and strengthen Social Security for current beneficiaries and future generations,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said in his opening statement. “The longer we wait, the more difficult this challenge will become.”
“We’ve got six years now ahead of us before the Social Security Trust Fund faces insolvency,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “If Social Security checks already aren't keeping up with inflation, what happens if they’re cut?”
Warren, echoing a proposal she and Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, have publicly touted, suggested lifting the cap on how much work income is taxed to support Social Security. In 2026, only earnings up to $184,500 are subject to the payroll tax; income above that level is not taxed for Social Security.
LeaMond said AARP supports looking at increasing Social Security’s revenue as part of any solution to address the funding shortfall. “We know that’s part of what has to be looked at if we’re going to talk about not cutting benefits,” she said.
AARP opposes any benefit cuts, she said, including raising the retirement age and trimming the annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). That position is supported by 81 percent of older adults, according to a May 2026 AARP poll.
LeaMond also noted that Social Security is becoming more central than ever to Americans’ retirement security.
“Private pensions have mostly vanished, and around half of our workforce has no employer-sponsored retirement plan,” she told lawmakers. “Forty-two percent of Americans age 50 plus who are not yet retired have less than $50,000 in retirement savings. All of this means Social Security will remain essential for many years to come.”
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
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