Cassidy, who lost his primary, presses lame-duck Congress to fix Social Security now

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, gave a speech on the Senate floor on Friday, Nov. 13. He urged Congress to deal with Social Security's money shortfall before the end of the year ¹. Cassidy leaves the Senate when his term ends. He lost his primary earlier this year to a Republican challenger backed by President Trump ⁴.

His office said he warned that doing nothing could mean a 28.5% cut in benefits in less than six years. It also said he urged Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, to let the committee take up the issue ¹. Cassidy said Congress can "do it now" and pass a fix before the next Congress starts ¹.

The timing matters. Democrats will control the House and the Senate after January. Outgoing members leave Congress on Jan. 3 ⁸. Until then, the current Republican-run Congress is in its "lame duck" session, the weeks after an election when defeated and retiring members can still vote. That Congress also faces a Dec. 11 deadline to keep the government funded ⁸.

Cassidy brought up the conventional wisdom that Social Security is too dangerous to touch, and he rejected it ¹.

From Channel GOPBernie Sanders after Democrats win CongressBernie Sanders · 146 plays · captioned, with the source named

You can't touch Social or else you're going to lose.

What Cassidy wants

Cassidy chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. In September he said, "I've been working on it for six years and I've got three months left" ⁴. He also tied his Friday speech to the Nov. 3 election, saying "if people make promises and don't keep them, the voters will punish them" ¹.

His main idea is a separate investment fund, kept apart from the Social Security trust fund. It would be modeled on the fund that backs railroad workers' pensions ⁷. He would put $1.5 trillion into it over five years, at $250 billion a year ⁵. The money would be borrowed by the Treasury and invested in stocks and other higher-risk assets ³. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia backs the plan ⁷.

Cassidy says the fund would cover about two-thirds of Social Security's projected $26.6 trillion shortfall ³. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan budget watchdog, has criticized the plan as risky and paid for with borrowed money ³.

Cassidy also wrote a second bill with Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, called the PROMISE Act. It sets up a process for writing a fix, not the fix itself ³⁶. In October, Cassidy said "the time has run out for the Promise Act to be effective" ⁵.

Why Democrats and seniors' groups are wary

Under the PROMISE Act, four unelected members of the Social Security Advisory Board would draft a plan to keep the program solvent for 50 years. Congress would then have to vote on that plan during the lame-duck session, under expedited rules that allow no amendments ². Five of the bill's seven sponsors lost their races or are not running again ².

In an August letter to fellow senators, Sanders, a Vermont independent who votes with Democrats, said the plan meant lawmakers voters had just rejected could decide Social Security's future ².

That would be absurd, anti-democratic, and unacceptable.

AARP told Cassidy and Durbin in a letter that it strongly objects to rushing Social Security changes through Congress this way ². On the Senate floor in August, Cassidy said AARP's Nancy LeaMond had come out against the bill ⁶. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, an advocacy group, raised the same concern about lame-duck votes ².

Those members could be asked to vote on sweeping changes to Americans’ earned benefits,

Checking the numbers

Social Security's trustees released their annual report in June. They project that the retirement trust fund will run dry in late 2032. After that, incoming payroll taxes would cover about 78% of scheduled benefits ²⁴. That works out to an automatic cut of about 22%, or "more than 20%," as Semafor reported ⁴.

Cassidy's 28.5% figure is bigger than the cut implied by the trustees' 78% estimate. His office's release does not show how the number was calculated ¹. Either way, the risk is real: without action, checks would shrink on their own.

Democrats want to raise money from the highest earners instead. Today, wages above $184,500 are not subject to the Social Security payroll tax ³. A bill from Sanders and Rep. Val Hoyle of Oregon would apply the tax to income above $250,000, including capital gains and dividends. It would also raise benefits by about $2,400 a year ³. Sanders calls that "how we extend Social Security's solvency for generations to come" ³. Wyden is also pushing to raise the tax cap ⁸.

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation estimates that getting rid of the cap would bring the trust fund more than $3.2 trillion in a decade ³. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a Democrat, and Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, a Republican, have floated lifting the cap, though they had not filed a bill as of August ³.

What comes next

That matters because the next few weeks decide who writes the fix. If a deal moves now, the Congress voters just turned over would write it. If it waits until January, Democrats will hold both chambers ⁸. Their main proposals ask the wealthiest to pay more instead of cutting checks ³.

Cassidy has been candid about the politics. Back in August, he said on the Senate floor that Wyden "spoke about his plan; his plan could be offered" ⁶. Whether Republicans, who hold power for only a few more weeks, give a Democratic plan that chance is the open question.

The Record

1. Aug 4, 2026Sanders warns Democrats in a letter not to back the PROMISE Act, which could force a Social Security vote in the lame-duck session ²
2. Aug 5, 2026On the Senate floor, Cassidy says AARP has come out against the PROMISE Act and that Wyden's plan 'could be offered' ⁶
3. Sep 15, 2026At a Semafor forum, Cassidy says he has three months left to pass a fix; the same day, he and Kaine promote their investment-fund plan ⁴⁷
4. Oct 9, 2026Benzinga reports Cassidy's plan for a $1.5 trillion fund built at $250 billion a year, and his view that the PROMISE Act has run out of time ⁵
5. Nov 13, 2026Cassidy urges the lame-duck Congress to act on Social Security before the next Congress and presses Wyden to let the Finance Committee take it up ¹

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<h2>Cassidy, who lost his primary, presses lame-duck Congress to fix Social Security now</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Kitchen-Table Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/cassidy-who-lost-his-primary-presses-lame-duck-congress-to-fix-social-security-now">The GOP Files</a> on Saturday, November 14, 2026.</em></p> <p>Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, gave a speech on the Senate floor on Friday, Nov. 13. He urged Congress to deal with Social Security&#39;s money shortfall before the end of the year . Cassidy leaves the Senate when his term ends. He lost his primary earlier this year to a Republican challenger backed by President Trump .</p> <p>His office said he warned that doing nothing could mean a 28.5% cut in benefits in less than six years. It also said he urged Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, to let the committee take up the issue . Cassidy said Congress can &quot;do it now&quot; and pass a fix before the next Congress starts .</p> <p>The timing matters. Democrats will control the House and the Senate after January. Outgoing members leave Congress on Jan. 3 . Until then, the current Republican-run Congress is in its &quot;lame duck&quot; session, the weeks after an election when defeated and retiring members can still vote. That Congress also faces a Dec. 11 deadline to keep the government funded .</p> <p>Cassidy brought up the conventional wisdom that Social Security is too dangerous to touch, and he rejected it .</p> <blockquote><p>You can&#39;t touch Social or else you&#39;re going to lose.</p><p>&mdash; Bill Cassidy, U.S. senator, R-La.</p></blockquote> <h2>What Cassidy wants</h2> <p>Cassidy chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. In September he said, &quot;I&#39;ve been working on it for six years and I&#39;ve got three months left&quot; . He also tied his Friday speech to the Nov. 3 election, saying &quot;if people make promises and don&#39;t keep them, the voters will punish them&quot; .</p> <p>His main idea is a separate investment fund, kept apart from the Social Security trust fund. It would be modeled on the fund that backs railroad workers&#39; pensions . He would put $1.5 trillion into it over five years, at $250 billion a year . The money would be borrowed by the Treasury and invested in stocks and other higher-risk assets . Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia backs the plan .</p> <p>Cassidy says the fund would cover about two-thirds of Social Security&#39;s projected $26.6 trillion shortfall . The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan budget watchdog, has criticized the plan as risky and paid for with borrowed money .</p> <p>Cassidy also wrote a second bill with Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, called the PROMISE Act. It sets up a process for writing a fix, not the fix itself . In October, Cassidy said &quot;the time has run out for the Promise Act to be effective&quot; .</p> <h2>Why Democrats and seniors&#39; groups are wary</h2> <p>Under the PROMISE Act, four unelected members of the Social Security Advisory Board would draft a plan to keep the program solvent for 50 years. Congress would then have to vote on that plan during the lame-duck session, under expedited rules that allow no amendments . Five of the bill&#39;s seven sponsors lost their races or are not running again .</p> <p>In an August letter to fellow senators, Sanders, a Vermont independent who votes with Democrats, said the plan meant lawmakers voters had just rejected could decide Social Security&#39;s future .</p> <blockquote><p>That would be absurd, anti-democratic, and unacceptable.</p><p>&mdash; Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator, I-Vt.</p></blockquote> <p>AARP told Cassidy and Durbin in a letter that it strongly objects to rushing Social Security changes through Congress this way . On the Senate floor in August, Cassidy said AARP&#39;s Nancy LeaMond had come out against the bill . The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, an advocacy group, raised the same concern about lame-duck votes .</p> <blockquote><p>Those members could be asked to vote on sweeping changes to Americans’ earned benefits,</p><p>&mdash; Max Richtman, president and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare</p></blockquote> <h2>Checking the numbers</h2> <p>Social Security&#39;s trustees released their annual report in June. They project that the retirement trust fund will run dry in late 2032. After that, incoming payroll taxes would cover about 78% of scheduled benefits . That works out to an automatic cut of about 22%, or &quot;more than 20%,&quot; as Semafor reported .</p> <p>Cassidy&#39;s 28.5% figure is bigger than the cut implied by the trustees&#39; 78% estimate. His office&#39;s release does not show how the number was calculated . Either way, the risk is real: without action, checks would shrink on their own.</p> <p>Democrats want to raise money from the highest earners instead. Today, wages above $184,500 are not subject to the Social Security payroll tax . A bill from Sanders and Rep. Val Hoyle of Oregon would apply the tax to income above $250,000, including capital gains and dividends. It would also raise benefits by about $2,400 a year . Sanders calls that &quot;how we extend Social Security&#39;s solvency for generations to come&quot; . Wyden is also pushing to raise the tax cap .</p> <p>The Peter G. Peterson Foundation estimates that getting rid of the cap would bring the trust fund more than $3.2 trillion in a decade . Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a Democrat, and Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, a Republican, have floated lifting the cap, though they had not filed a bill as of August .</p> <h2>What comes next</h2> <p>That matters because the next few weeks decide who writes the fix. If a deal moves now, the Congress voters just turned over would write it. If it waits until January, Democrats will hold both chambers . Their main proposals ask the wealthiest to pay more instead of cutting checks .</p> <p>Cassidy has been candid about the politics. Back in August, he said on the Senate floor that Wyden &quot;spoke about his plan; his plan could be offered&quot; . Whether Republicans, who hold power for only a few more weeks, give a Democratic plan that chance is the open question.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/cassidy-who-lost-his-primary-presses-lame-duck-congress-to-fix-social-security-now">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/cassidy-who-lost-his-primary-presses-lame-duck-congress-to-fix-social-security-now.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. Office of Sen. Bill Cassidy, “Cassidy on Senate Floor: Protecting Social Security Means Protecting America's Fiscal Future” (2026-11-13). cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-on-senate
2. Common Dreams, “Sanders Warns Democrats: Don't Support Bill to Fast-Track Social Security Cuts” (2026-08-04). commondreams.org/news/sanders-democrats-social-security
3. Fortune (Associated Press), “Bernie Sanders has a fix for 'Social Security's solvency for generations to come': make the rich pay” (2026-08-27). fortune.com/2026/08/27/cassidy-social-security-tough-vote-qu
4. Semafor, “Exclusive: Cassidy warns time running out to fix Social Security” (2026-09-15). semafor.com/article/09/15/2026/cassidy-warns-time-running-ou
5. Yahoo News (Benzinga), “Senator Bill Cassidy Warns Social Security Benefits Could Be Slashed 28.5% — Proposes $1.5 Trillion Investment Fund That 'Blossoms Out' Over 65 to 75 Years” (2026-10-09). yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/senator-bill-cassidy-warns-
6. Congressional Record (congress.gov), “Senate, August 5, 2026, pages S4470-S4471” (2026-08-05). congress.gov/119/crec/2026/08/05/172/128/modified/CREC-2026-
7. Office of Sen. Bill Cassidy, “Cassidy, Kaine Join NewsNation to Discuss Bipartisan Solution to Social Security's Looming Insolvency” (2026-09-15). cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-kaine-joi
8. The Fiscal Times, “Lame-Duck Congress Faces a Shutdown Deadline” (2026-11-09). thefiscaltimes.com/newsletter/20261109-Lame-Duck-Congress-Fa

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