In addition to fighting COVID-19, Mitt Romney wants an aid package to reform Social Security and Medicare

When Senate Republicans on Monday unveiled their proposals for an upcoming round of COVID-19 relief, they included one by Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, which he says is intended to save trust funds that will soon run out for Social Security and Medicare. .

“Among its many devastating effects, COVID-19 has threatened the fiscal health of essential programs like Medicare and Social Security,” said Romney.

“If Congress does not respond quickly, the insolvency day for these programs will now come years earlier than expected. The TRUST Act is a bipartisan solution to shore up these programs and get us out of the way of fiscal danger. “

Without legislative action, Romney said some estimates show that Social Security Part A could be insolvent in two years, and Social Security could be insolvent in 11 years.

Romney’s proposal would require the Treasury Department to submit a report on the creditworthiness of the endangered trust funds by January. Congress would then appoint members to the “rescue committees,” one for each trust fund, with the mandate to find ways to restore solvency. Committee bills advanced to receive prompt debate

He said the TRUST Act is also necessary to control long-term debt by putting trust funds on a firm footing after the pandemic.

“We are going to have $ 27 trillion in debt by the end of the year, maybe more. It is an unimaginable number,” Romney said. “We are going to have to deal with this somehow so that this does not become an outstanding fiscal calamity. for our nation, and a burden that our children and their children will pay. “

“The TRUST Act creates a closed-door process to accelerate cuts to Social Security. It is a way to undermine the economic security of Americans without political responsibility, “said Nancy Altman, the group’s president.

“In the midst of a catastrophic pandemic, they [Republicans] it should focus on protecting older people, essential workers and the unemployed, “he said.” Instead, they are planning to use pandemic coverage to cut Social Security. “

Romney scoffed at such criticism, saying the process would be public and that, by design, it would require bipartisan support to pass.

He added: “There is no interest from Republicans or Democrats in cutting Social Security or Medicare for current retirees or people who are about to retire. At the same time, we will have to make sure that what we are proposing for younger people to come is something that is fiscally sustainable. “

The legislation is backed by a group of bipartisan senators, including Democratic Senator Doug Jones of Alabama; Joe Manchin of West Virgina; and Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona.