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House Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee chair Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) introduced a bill that was disguised as reform but is actually the first step in a sinister Republican plan to dismantle Social Security.

The full text of the legislation can be read here, but what Republicans are calling “reform” is actually a planned attack on the foundation of the beloved program.

The Washington Examiner summed up what the bill would do, “The bill put forward by Texas’ Sam Johnson, the chairman of the subcommittee on Social Security, would reduce costs by changing the benefits formula to reduce payments progressively for high earners. It would also gradually raise the full retirement age from 67 to 69 for people who are today 49 or younger. Lastly, it would change the inflation metric used to calculate benefits to one that shows lower inflation, essentially slowing the growth in benefits, and eliminate cost of living adjustments for high earners.”

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In other words, the legislation does exactly what Trump and the Republicans promised not to do. It cuts Social Security. However, the bill is even more sinister than a plan cut, because it attacks the fundamental basis of the entire program. The raising of the retirement age and the cutting of benefits opens the door to Social Security being reshaped from a retirement program for all to a program for older Americans while everyone else has their retirement privatized.

House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Johnson’s bill cuts Social Security benefits by more than one-third, “Cutting Social Security would have devastating consequences for Americans’ retirement security. At a time when Americans are more anxious about their retirement than ever, the top Republican on the Social Security Subcommittee is rolling out legislation that cuts benefits by more than a third, raises the retirement age from 67 to 69, cuts seniors’ cost of living adjustments, and targets benefits for the families of disabled and retired workers.”

There is a reason why this bill was put forward on Thursday night, instead of in the light of day. Republicans are trying to stealthily gut Social Security. They are hoping that the American people won’t notice that the program has been hollowed out until it is too late.

The Republican course of action is both sinister and dishonest. If Trump and the Republican Congressional majority want to cut Social Security, they should look the American people in the eyes and own it.

Republicans in Congress are setting themselves up to dismantle Social Security, and they are hoping that the American people will be too distracted by Trump’s Twitter account to catch on. Social Security will only be saved if the public is informed and ready to fight.