U.S. lawmakers discuss Social Security, have no plan to prevent insolvency

(The Center Square) – One day after federal trustees warned Congress that Social Security’s retirement trust fund will go insolvent by 2032, a U.S. House subcommittee met to question Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano about the program’s future.

The program’s insolvency will automatically trigger a benefit cut of 22% or more, impacting more than 60 million American retirees, 43% of whom rely on Social Security for the majority of their income.

Yet lawmakers barely touched on ways to address the fund’s depletion during the two-hour Wednesday hearing.

Instead, Democrats grilled Bisignano over local office closures and argued that benefits should be expanded, while Republicans praised Bisignano’s efforts to improve customer service, payout efficiency and fraud prevention.

Although subcommittee Chairman Ron Estes, R-Kan., acknowledged the fast-approac...