Statement for the Hearing Record by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Member, Senate Finance Committee
“Exploring Process Approaches for Addressing Social Security Solvency”
Wednesday, August 5, 2026

 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling today’s hearing to examine process approaches for achieving Social Security solvency.

This hearing is a nice complement to the subcommittee hearing I held on the future of Social Security at the end of June. As I stressed then, we must work together to fix Social Security to prevent automatic benefit cuts to 65 million beneficiaries.

The Social Security trustees have warned for decades that the program is unsustainable in its current form. And, for decades, Congress has ignored their warnings.

If Congress had acted two decades ago, Social Security could have been fixed by making relatively minor changes. But today – with the program’s estimated $30 trillion of unfunded liabilities – we’re confronted with a monumental task.

It’s a project that’ll require bipartisan cooperation to find a balanced and sustainable solution.

When the program faced a funding crisis in the early 1980s, elected leaders put partisan politics aside for the good of all Social Security beneficiaries.

Most famously President Reagan, a Republican president, and Tip O’Neill, the Democrat speaker of the House, agreed to form a bipartisan commission on Social Security to spark action.

The commission had its struggles, but it ultimately produced recommendations that served as the basis for the 1983 Social Security amendments.

This was in no small part thanks to the resolve of two notable commission members: Senator Dole, a Republican, and Senator Moynihan, a Democrat.

As the commission’s deadline for producing recommendations approached, its members were deadlocked.

Then, Senator Dole published an op-ed in the New York Times indicating he remained open to a bipartisan compromise. In response, Senator Moynihan approached Senator Dole on the Senate floor and asked, “Are we going to let this commission die without giving it one more try?”

This led to the duo establishing a small group – with Reagan and O’Neill’s support – to hammer out a compromise.

Social Security was saved thanks to Republicans and Democrats working together. They understood the program’s long-term success is dependent on broad public support.

Maintaining that broad support meant any enduring solution would require shared sacrifice and success.

Much like in 1983, saving Social Security today will require a president and members of Congress to reject political fearmongering in favor of a constructive dialogue.

Moreover, it’ll require organizations that Senator Moynihan called “veto groups” to prioritize productive feedback over click bait outrage.

To me, the most important lesson from 1983 is the need for elected leaders to rise above partisan politics to solve important issues. Whether it’s Reagan and O’Neill or Dole and Moynihan, there are plenty of examples for us to learn from.

I look forward to hearing from today’s witnesses about what process is best suited to fostering bipartisan cooperation to fix Social Security today.

Find Grassley’s questions to hearing witnesses HERE.

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