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Biden Gets A Whopping Four Pinocchio’s For False Social Security Claims

September 8, 2020 — Blog   

Even the Washington Post is calling out former Vice President Joe Biden for false assertions, giving him a whopping Four Pinocchio’s for misrepresenting Republicans’ support for Social Security.

“To make a long story short, Democrats ginned up a letter from the chief actuary to describe a plan that does not currently exist,” the Post reported. “That adds up to Four Pinocchios.”

These false claims were repeated by a recent ad by the former Vice President claiming that President Trump would have Social Security “permanently depleted by the middle of calendar year 2023.”

Here are the facts:

  • Social Security is safe. Period. As the Washington Post said: Mr. Biden’s ad “refers to ‘Trump’s planned cuts.’ But there are no planned cuts. The ad cites ‘Trump’s plan,’ but the actuary’s letter says it is referring only to a hypothetical plan sketched out by Democrats.” In other words, Mr. Biden is trying to scare seniors into believing benefits are set to be cut when there is no plan to do so.
  • Republicans are working to set the record straight. House Ways and Means Republican Leader Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) recently pressed Chief Actuary of Social Security Goss over Democrats’ use of his office for political purposes. Brady and Grassley asked for a public clarification to recently published analysis that has led to partisan misinformation to be spread by Democrats.
  • Republicans are eager to strengthen Social Security without shrinking paychecks. Today, the leading Democrat plan for Social Security would result in an over $21 trillion tax hike primarily on workers and small businesses. This would leave all workers, especially recent college graduates, with a smaller paycheck for life for just a few more years of solvency for Social Security. Americans deserve better. Republican Leaders on the Ways and Means Committee have laid out principles for how to ensure Social Security is here for current and future generations without hurting workers’ wallets.

Democrats purporting negative Republican sentiments toward Social Security is a lyric as old as the book of Psalms. Without missing a beat, Democrats every four years have made claims attacking Republicans, stating that the GOP is trying to slash Social Security. (You may recall that time an ad claimed former Speaker Paul Ryan wanted to “throw granny off a cliff.” Then, as is now, that ad was labeled as “false.”)

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SUBCOMMITTEE: Social Security