Scott, Finance Committee Republicans Demand Accountability for Continued Late Release of Medicare, Social Security Trustees Reports

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Finance Committee Republicans in a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), requesting the agency monitor the managing trustee’s flagrant disregard for statutory deadlines. Required by law, the Medicare and Social Security Trustees reports are to be issued no later than April 1, yet the 2021 and 2022 reports were issued August 31 and June 2, respectively. 

The Biden administration has repeatedly ignored congressional inquiries as to why the trustees reports have not been submitted in a timely manner. Neither Treasury Secretary Yellen nor the Board of Trustees have signaled any intent to modify internal procedure regulating management of the report schedule, nor have they adopted previous GAO recommendations to improve communication with Congress. It is the responsibility of the treasury secretary to provide these reports to Congress in a timely manner, as required by law, or provide Congress and the American people with explanations for late work.

From the letter: 

“With respect to reporting on the financial conditions of trust funds, once again this year the reports were issued well beyond the statutory deadline, and there was no process followed by the Managing Trustee for informing the public or members of Congress about the delay or reasons for the delay. …

“Late reporting on financial conditions of important trust funds that support multi-trillion-dollar Social Security and Medicare programs does not seem important to the administration, even in light of the striking decision by the President to politicize the Social Security Administration.”

Read the full letter here. 

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