The legislation to create a 16-member panel to recommend steps to balance the federal budget and improve the long-term fiscal health of Medicare and Social Security has faced opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. The commission would have 16 members — 12 from Congress evenly divided by party and four outside experts without voting power.
….the Grace Commission revealed in 1982 that ZERO tax revenue goes towards federal government spending. It all goes towards the cost of collections and interest on the national debt. All federal government spending represents new money creation
— Axel Savage (@LibertySavage01) April 28, 2024
The fiscal realities that would face any commission are well documented and center largely on Social Security and Medicare which consume an ever-growing share of the federal budget along with interest payments on the nation’s debt. The reserves for the The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will run out in 2033 while Medicare’s trust fund covering inpatient hospital stays hospice care and stays at skilled nursing facilities has sufficient funds to pay full benefits until 2036.
It's Time for A Bipartisan Fiscal Commission
SEP 29, 2023
BUDGET PROCESS
The national debt is on an unsustainable path, interest costs are exploding, and the Social Security and Medicare trust funds are approaching insolvency. A new fiscal commission can help policymakers…
— Nkechi Chika Okeke (@NkechiOkeke418) May 7, 2024
Despite the challenges, supporters of the debt commission legislation remain hopeful. Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) one of three Democrats who voted for the bill in committee and is a co-sponsor said getting legislation through Congress is often a long game. “We’re in that classic position where everybody hates us,” Peters said. “We must be doing the right thing.”
Manchin mentioned the possibility of attaching the legislation to a bill in a lame-duck session after the election and before the new Congress is sworn into office.
