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Ways and Means Committee Seeks Public Input to Protect and Preserve Our Nation’s Entitlement Programs

Committee Invites the Public to Offer Comments on Most Often Discussed Bipartisan Proposals to Secure Medicare and Social Security
July 11, 2013 — Press Releases   


Washington, D.C. – Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) announced that the Committee is accepting public comments on bipartisan proposals to reform Medicare and Social Security.  The announcement follows several hearings held by the Ways and Means Subcommittees on Health and Social Security as part of the Committee’s entitlement reform hearing series.  As part of the effort to engage Americans in the discussion, the Committee will provide draft legislative text on bipartisan plans that have been proposed over the last several years.  Feedback can be submitted via email to entitlementreform@mail.house.gov and the first proposal related to the future of Social Security is available at www.waysandmeans.house.gov/entitlementreform.

Commenting on the announcement, Camp stated, “Regardless of political persuasion, there is growing understanding and acceptance that Medicare and Social Security are in financial peril, and our hearings have only underscored that reality.  Given the bipartisan support for various reforms to these programs, there is no reason we cannot roll up our sleeves and get this done.  But, before we make any decisions, we want to make sure people are sharing their thoughts and ideas about the next steps Congress and the White House will need to take to identify and implement real solutions.”

Without action to address the fiscal and structural challenges facing our nation’s entitlement programs, Medicare will be bankrupt by 2026 and seniors will see a 23 percent cut to their Social Security benefits in 2033. 

In April, the Ways and Means Committee announced a bipartisan hearing series on entitlement reform.  As part of that series, the Committee is reviewing a variety of proposals to protect and preserve Medicare and Social Security that have been identified by President Obama – either in his budget or in other recommendations to Congress.  The Committee is also reviewing bipartisan ideas for entitlement reform from the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (known as the “Simpson-Bowles Commission”) and the Bipartisan Policy Center Debt Reduction Task Force (known as the “Domenici-Rivlin Task Force”). 

The public is encouraged to submit comments to any of the proposals listed below by email at entitlementreform@mail.house.gov by the due date listed for each proposal.  You can view the proposals at www.waysandmeans.house.gov/entitlementreform.

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SUBCOMMITTEE: Health    SUBCOMMITTEE: Social Security    SUBCOMMITTEE: Full Committee