At a time when Americans are protesting for equal justice under the law for communities of color, and while we're still dealing with the financial and physical impact of the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump appears more concerned about making harmful changes to Social Security than addressing these urgent issues.

For months, President Trump has continued to focus a lot of his attention on pushing for a dangerous payroll tax cut which would starve Social Security of much-needed revenue and open the door to future cuts, even privatization. It's a terrible idea that he just can't quit. During a recent press briefing, when the White House press secretary was asked whether President Trump was open to another coronavirus economic relief package, she said, "there are several things he wants, a payroll tax holiday was one of them."

The National Committee is alarmed by President Trump's stubborn persistence on this dangerous proposal. In response, we sent a letter to the President outlining our concerns and opposition to a payroll tax cut, which could undermine the earned right nature of Social Security. And we urged him to consider more targeted and effective measures to help the economy and workers, at a time when millions of Americans are unemployed and struggling to make ends meet.

As you know, Social Security is exclusively funded by payroll contributions from workers and employers. Tampering with its funding is dangerous for the program, its 65 million beneficiaries and countless more Americans in years to come. And in light of the recent Social Security Trustees report, it's clear that Social Security needs more revenue — not less. Yet, President Trump has indicated he would be willing to hold up the next coronavirus economic relief legislation unless he gets his reckless payroll tax cut.

Choking off Social Security's funding stream is an attack on seniors' earned benefits. That's why the National Committee is fighting to stop this dangerous threat on behalf of millions of current and future Social Security beneficiaries.

The National Committee strongly opposes any effort to include the "TRUST Act" (H.R. 4907 / S. 2733) in future coronavirus relief legislation.

The "TRUST Act" would create so-called "Rescue Committees" that would draft legislation to address the solvency of federal trust funds, including the Social Security and Medicare funds. Once the respective Rescue Committees approve a trust fund bill, the legislation would receive expedited consideration in the House and Senate, thus limiting the participation of Social Security and Medicare stakeholders and advocates in the debate.

This legislation does not specify how solvency would be achieved, thus opening the Social Security and Medicare programs to whatever broad array of across-the-board cuts that the proposed committees may choose to offer. What's more, the bill fails to require the committees to consider the importance of benefit adequacy given the growing number of older Americans who depend on Social Security for all or most of their income in retirement, or how Medicare benefit cuts would undermine the health security of seniors and people with disabilities.

In addition, we object to using the proposed committees to bypass the committees of jurisdiction over Social Security and Medicare — the House Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Finance.

As an alternative to the "TRUST Act," we urge Congress to support the "Social Security 2100 Act" (H.R. 860). This landmark bill clearly represents the consensus of an overwhelming majority of Americans to close Social Security's modest funding gap and improve Social Security benefits. It would boost benefits, improve the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) formula and make millionaires pay their fair share into the program, which would go a long with to improving Social Security's solvency.

There's no question that Congress must address the projected shortfall in the Social Security trust fund in 2035 (after which the program could still pay 79% of benefits). Senator Mitt Romney's (UT) "TRUST Act" would seek to address Social Security's solvency issue by putting the future of Social Security in the hands of a special committee. Like an earlier, failed proposal in the last Congress to establish a special Social Security commission, Senator Romney's bill sets up a committee that would operate outside of regular order and its recommendations would be fast-tracked to the House and Senate floors. This bill has gained new attention as some lawmakers are considering adding it as part of the next coronavirus economic relief package.

That's why I asked our readers the following question in the last issue of Benefits Watch:

Should the "TRUST Act" be included in the next coronavirus economic relief bill the Senate puts to the floor for a vote?

The results from our recent poll are fascinating, but they're only available to National Committee members! Join the National Committee today and we'll immediately give you the results of this important poll.

Did you know that a team of experts in the field of Social Security policy is available to answer your questions about benefits? For 37 years, the National Committee has been helping thousands of our members and supporters with a broad range of concerns on Social Security.

Whether you're currently retired or approaching retirement, the National Committee's "Ask Us" section can help answer your questions about Social Security. You can either search our archives for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns at www.ncpssm.org/ask-us-recent/ or email your question to [email protected].

This week's question is: Your "Social Security Primer" reads: "What workers may not realize is that their payroll taxes entitle their families to survivor's benefits, providing life insurance protection worth over $400,000." Can you please explain this?

Click here to read the answer.

Why You Shouldn't Trust the TRUST Act (June 10, 2020, WIZM, radio interview with Max Richtman)

Trump's $35 Insulin Plan: A Nickel Solution to a Billion-Dollar Problem (June 9, 2020, Morning Consult, written by Max Richtman)

Survey Says: Seniors Want Social Security Protected, not Misused (June 12, 2020, www.ncpssm.org, Entitled to Know blog)

A Few Ways Systemic Racism Suppresses Black Retirement, Wealth (June 10, 2020, Forbes, Ryan Derousseau)

Dem chairmen urge CMS to prevent nursing homes from seizing stimulus payments (June 8, 2020, The Hill, Naomi Jagoda)

How Big Will The Raise For Social Security Recipients Be In 2021? (June 8, 2020, Forbes, David Rae)