The financial crisis facing Social Security and Medicare is worsening each year.  If Congress does not act to implement meaningful reform for these programs, our country will be facing a full-fledged financial crisis.  Without reform these programs, by 2040, will cost Americans as much as the entire federal government does today, forcing our children to pay twice as much in federal taxes.

According to the Social Security and Medicare trustees' annual report that was recently released, the combined cost of Social Security and Medicare currently consumes about 40 percent of total federal tax revenue.  In addition, it is projected to double in roughly three decades, and then will continue growing to represent nearly one-fifth of the total U.S. economy which is about the size of the entire federal government today.

Medicare alone is already drawing 12.3 percent of the federal income tax revenue and this percentage will double in the next 15 years and triple in the next 25 years.  Beginning in 2017, Social Security benefit payments will outpace Social Security income, at which point the program will have to begin drawing from general revenue funds each year to finance the benefits that will then exceed payroll tax revenue.  In 2041, the Social Security Trust Fund will be completely exhausted.  This will leave the program bankrupt and unable to pay its promised benefits to seniors.  In fact, the report predicts that the program will fall 25 percent short of scheduled benefits if the program is not reformed.

The facts on the future of our entitlement programs are clear.  Nearly 80 million Baby Boomers will begin retiring as soon as next year, putting an unprecedented, growing, and, eventually, unsupportable strain on our entitlement programs.  Unfortunately Congress has yet to move to address these challenges in a meaningful way.  In fact, the Majority Budget, which passed the House last month, did not make plans for ANY entitlement reform at all for the next five years.  This is unacceptable.  The longer we wait, the worse the problems become.  I will continue encouraging my colleagues on both sides of the isle to address this problem-not ignore it.

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