SAFE Commission

We must reform our entitlement programs to avoid a financial disaster in the coming years. Currently, Medicare and Social Security account for 40 percent of federal spending. Over the next 35 years the cost is expected to reach 80 percent of all federal spending. Without reform, in about 30 years, there would be no discretionary money left for defense spending. In less than 20 years, there would be no money for student loans, transportation funding, national parks, or cancer research, just to name a few national priorities that would suffer.

I continue to advocate for a national commission that would address this problem. The bill I introduced, the SAFE (Securing America’s Future Economy) Commission Act, would establish a bipartisan committee to address the budget crisis and put all options on the table, from tax policy to entitlement spending. Congress would be required to vote on the commission’s recommendations. I believe we have a moral responsibility to future generations to address this difficult problem, and I will continue to push my colleagues to join me.