Says
it’s just a 'reduction in the rate
of increase' – doesn’t explain $30 billion cut to Social Security Disability
During a Senate
Finance Committee hearing on February 12, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin—using
euphemistic language Democratic lawmakers described as "Washington-speak"—admitted that President
Donald Trump's fiscal year 2021 budget proposal would cut Social Security days
after the president insisted he is "not touching" the program."Any 'reduction in the rate of increase' would lead to benefit cuts." —Alex Lawson, Social Security Works
Pressed by Sen.
Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) on the budget's call for tens of billions in
cuts to Social Security over the next decade, Mnuchin said, "I believe
it's not a cut, it's a reduction in the rate of increase. And it's not to the
benefits of people on Social Security."
"If that is not a
cut, then I would love to talk to you about what it is this administration
values and what they see, how these groups and important individuals in our
communities are being affected," responded Cortez Masto. "My concern
is this administration says one thing, but their actions are just the
opposite."
Sen. Ron Wyden
(D-Ore.), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, tweeted in response to the exchange that
"Mnuchin admits Trump's budget cuts your earned benefits in Social
Security."
"'Slowing the
rate of increase' is Washington-speak for cutting benefits and breaking the
Social Security and Medicare guarantee," Wyden added.
Alex Lawson, executive director of progressive advocacy group Social Security Works, told Common Dreams that "only a true creature of Wall Street could try telling people that even though they are getting less money it isn't 'really' a cut.'
"This administration's budget is built on policies that pillage working families to pay for brand new windfalls for corporations and the wealthy." —Sen. Ron Wyden
"When Steve
Mnuchin or any other politician says that a 'reduction in the rate of increase'
is different than a benefit cut, they are shamelessly lying," Lawson said.
"If Social Security benefits were to stay flat every year, they would
quickly begin losing value due to inflation. We need to make annual
cost-of-living adjustments more generous, not less."
"Social
Security's total spending also increases yearly due to growth in the population
of beneficiaries, something that the program's actuaries have known about and
planned for decades in advance," added Lawson. "Any 'reduction in the
rate of increase' would lead to benefit cuts."
Mnuchin's comments
came days after Trump said following the release of his $4.8
trillion budget on Monday that he is "not touching Medicare" and
"not touching Social Security."
But the president's
plan calls for billions in cuts to both programs. The budget specifically
targets the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program with nearly $30
billion in cuts over the next 10 years.
"The
administration argues the SSDI cut isn't really a 'Social Security' reduction:
White House budget documents omit the disability program’s name, describing
SSDI as a 'federal disability program,'" HuffPost reported Wednesday. "But these are
cuts nonetheless."
During his opening statement at Wednesday's hearing,
Wyden called Trump's proposed budget "a perfect snapshot of this
administration's policies robbing working families to pay off special interests
and those at the top."
"This
administration's budget is built on policies that pillage working families to
pay for brand new windfalls for corporations and the wealthy," said Wyden.