A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House this week would establish a 13-member commission to develop Social Security reforms before the program’s trust fund depletes in 2032, triggering automatic benefit cuts. Representatives Tom Cole (R-OK) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) introduced the Bipartisan Social Security Commission Act (H.R. 9187) on June 10, 2026, one day before trustees reported that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of scheduled benefits only until the fourth quarter of 2032.
“I am going to tell you the truth that many of my fellow politicians in Washington refuse to acknowledge: the solvency of Social Security is at a critical point,” Cole said in a statement. “As a Congress, we must act.”
Under current law, when the trust fund depletes, Social Security will only be able to pay about 78 percent of scheduled benefits, meaning an automatic across-the-board benefit reduction of roughly 22 percent for all beneficiaries. For an average married couple of earners, that amounts to approximately $10,560 per year in lost benefits.
The commission would include eight members appointed by congressional leadership from both parties (two from each party’s leader in the House and Senate) and four members appointed by the chairs and ranking members of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees. The bill requires at least two of the congressional appointees to be non-elected outside experts. The president appoints the 13th member, who would serve as chair.
The commission must produce recommendations and proposed legislation sufficient to keep Social Security solvent for at least 75 years within one year of its first meeting. Any proposal must receive approval from at least nine of the 13 members to guarantee bipartisan support before it reaches Congress. Once the commission reports, the bill would receive expedited consideration in Congress for an up-and-down vote without amendment.
Cole has introduced versions of this bill across seven previous Congresses, modeling it on the 1983 Social Security Commission. When that commission, chaired by Alan Greenspan, delivered recommendations in January 1983, Congress enacted bipartisan legislation that increased payroll taxes, adjusted the full retirement age, and made other changes that extended the program’s solvency for decades. The 1983 amendments resolved the short-term financing crisis that Social Security faced at the time.
The program faces mounting pressure because an aging population has strained the worker-to-beneficiary ratio. In 1960, five workers paid Social Security taxes for every beneficiary; today that ratio is 3-to-1 and falling. Americans are also living longer, meaning more retirees draw benefits for longer periods. Additionally, the payroll tax base has shrunk from 90 percent of covered earnings in 1983 to 83 percent today, as wages above the taxable maximum have grown faster than those below it.
Michael Ryan, a finance expert and founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, called the Cole-Suozzi bill the “first serious structural fix” to address Social Security reform. “The problem isn’t ideas,” Ryan told Newsweek. “We’ve had plenty of those sitting around since the 1983 Greenspan Commission. The problem is accountability. Every previous commission produced recommendations that died in committee with zero political consequence.” Ryan emphasized that the bill’s mechanism requiring a floor vote gives Congress no escape route: “Either Congress creates a credible process now or they own the 22 percent cut when it lands.”
The bill is in the early stages of the legislative process, with committee review in the House expected to follow. Even if enacted, the commission would need time to develop recommendations, meaning any major policy changes would likely come later.
Sources
- BPC Action — fact sheet on the Bipartisan Social Security Commission Act, commission structure, and the 2032 insolvency timeline
- Newsweek — Cole and Suozzi quotes, bill details, expert commentary from Michael Ryan and other analysts
- ThinkAdvisor — bill introduction details and commission structure
- Social Security Administration — trust fund depletion date and benefit payment projections
