Hatch Statement on Medicare and Social Security Trustees’ Reports

Utah Senator Utah Senator Says, “Increased economic growth from tax reform, smarter regulation and other pro-growth initiatives will go a long way in helping shore up the financial conditions of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.”

WASHINGTON –Today, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) issued the following statement regarding the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees’ annual reports: 

“Today’s trustee reports underscore what we already know: We must act to fix our entitlement programs and chart a course to put them back on strong fiscal footing. Indeed, with an aging population, our nation’s most critical retirement programs – Medicare and Social Security – are feeling an increased financial squeeze that puts their future viability at serious risk. In 2015, the Republican-led Congress took action to strengthen these programs. Implementing concrete reforms to Social Security’s disability insurance program averted cuts to disabled American workers’ benefits. A restructuring of Medicare’s payment system ensured seniors continued to have access to quality care. Yet despite these efforts, Medicare and Social Security continue to be on shaky grounds.

“With a new administration in the White House, one that is committed to advancing a strong, pro-growth agenda, we have a real opportunity to come together and implement smart policies that will help ensure these programs are here for our children and grandchildren. Increased economic growth from tax reform, smarter regulation and other pro-growth initiatives will go a long way in helping shore up the financial conditions of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.”

NOTE: The reports were drafted without input from public trustees due to obstruction from Senate Democrats who blocked two trustees last year. Click here to read Hatch’s June 2016 remarks on the Senate floor discussing this issue.

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