For Senator Joni Ernst and her GOP leaders, there’s never a bad time to float cutting Iowans’ hard-earned Social Security benefits. After giving away over $1 billion in small business relief to massive corporations, the Trump Administration is now exploring using Social Security benefits to put the economic costs of the pandemic squarely on the backs of workers.
The plan – which tracks with Senator Ernst’s “sham” proposal last year to raid Social Security benefits – would slash the financial safety net of Iowans, potentially including the over 180,000 Iowans who have been forced out of work by the pandemic. The proposal comes as Senator Ernst’s party leaders are pushing a payroll tax cut that could “devastate the social safety nets” including Social Security and Medicare, and is yet another sign that Senator Ernst and the GOP are refusing to put workers and families first in this crisis.
The plan follows years of direct threats and legislative efforts from Senator Ernst to gut to the program that 650,000 Iowans rely on:
- Last year, Senator Ernst introduced a “sham” plan that would take “a sizable cut out of older Americans’ retirement payments.”
- In February, Senator Ernst was caught secretly telling her DC donors that Social Security is “out of control.”
- Senator Ernst failed to condemn a plan floated by President Trump to “look at” cuts to Social Security following the election.
- Senator Ernst pushed for Social Security to be rolled back behind closed doors in Washington “so we’re not being scrutinized.”