Bipartisan Senate bill aims to address Social Security funding shortfall

A bipartisan coalition of senators introduced legislation on Tuesday to confront a projected shortfall in the Social Security retirement trust fund, which the latest Board of Trustees report says will emerge in 2032, a year earlier than previously forecast. The bill, called the Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone (PROMISE) Act, would establish an independent, bipartisan advisory committee to recommend a solvency plan and require Congress to hold an up-or-down vote on the proposal.

"The longer Congress waits, the more difficult it will be to address the program’s financial shortfall," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., one of the bill’s authors.

The sponsors include retiring Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin, Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine, Independent Sen. Angus King, and Republicans Bill Cassidy, John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, with co-sponsors Sen. Chris Coons and Sen. Alan Armstrong. The measure seeks to guarantee that lawmakers consider a long-term financing solution that would keep Social Security solvent for at least 50 years.

The proposal follows earlier congressional attempts, such as a 2024 House effort to create a federal debt commission that also examined Social Security and Medicare solvency, which stalled after lobbying by the tax-policy group Americans for Tax Reform. The trustees’ report attributes the looming gap to demographic trends, reduced immigration and lower trust-fund revenues, noting that benefits would continue at reduced levels even after the trust fund is exhausted.

While Republicans have traditionally opposed tax increases and Democrats have resisted raising the eligibility age, recent bipartisan calls—including an op-ed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Moreno urging an increase in the payroll-tax cap—highlight ongoing efforts to secure the program’s future.