ASBA Update From Washington

As an ASBA member, you now have free access to news and updates on important issues from our legislative team in Washington DC.

June 2008
by James C. Musser, ASBA Washington Representative

The deafening silence from the candidates about how they plan to save Medicare and Social Security from impending bankruptcy is one of the big disappointments of this year’s presidential campaign. Regular readers of this column know Medicare is going to start paying out more than it receives in taxes starting next year and, according to the Medicare Trustees, will be bankrupt by 2017. However, a brilliant young congressman from Wisconsin may prove to be the best friend seniors ever had as the man who saved Social Security and Medicare.

Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) serves as the top-ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee and he is an important member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes, Social Security, Medicaid and much of Medicare. Ryan is a big thinker and understands the transformative power of ideas. As he is fond of saying, “We are going to have to tackle these problems or they are going to tackle us.”

At age thirty-eight, Paul Ryan is a man of powerful ideas. Perhaps the biggest and most important ideas are in his bill, H.R. 6110, known as “A Roadmap for America’s Future.” Unlike so many pieces of legislation aimed at “fixing” some portion of the retirement security system, Ryan’s Roadmap takes a comprehensive approach addressing Social Security, Medicare and the tax system necessary to make sure these vital programs are permanently solvent. Ryan’s committee assignments ensure that he is in a position to make the arguments and push the debate forward on how to protect our seniors and leave the next generation better off than the last.

Ryan’s Roadmap reflects the complex nature of the problem of trillions of dollars in unfunded mandates but can be summarized using broad categories. The bill is designed to ensure universal access to health insurance and restore the solvency of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The bill preserves Medicare and Social Security as is for seniors and those over fifty-five years-old and adds market-based incentives, greater choice and tax breaks for those under fifty-five. Ryan’s Roadmap has been vetted by the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration, who has said H.R. 6110 would make our retirement programs permanently solvent.

Ryan’s Roadmap also addresses the need to modernize the tax system to keep America competitive and our economy growing. Globalization means our tax system has to be updated to promote job growth and keep U.S. businesses on the cutting edge of world competition. While H.R. 6110 addresses a number of deficiencies in the current tax code, its adjustment to business and investment taxes is one of the biggest steps to ensuring that American firms do not lose out to foreign competition and good jobs stay in the USA. After all, a growing dynamic economy is essential for both our retirement security system and a better standard of living.

Ryan is eager for the debate to begin and has thrown down the gauntlet to others on Capitol Hill saying, “As our nation’s leaders continue to drag their feet on these reforms, we risk severing the great American legacy. This legacy provides that each generation tackles their historic challenge and leaves the next generation more secure and more prosperous. It is our duty to leave our children with a better America and I believe that my Roadmap for America’s Future will fulfill this duty.”

All of us should be thankful that Paul Ryan is looking out for our future. His efforts deserve our support.

On a personal note, this is the last column from your humble correspondent as I take up a new position with George Mason University. Many thanks to all our wonderful ASBA members for our great years together. Be sure to check each month for your ASBA Update from Washington.

ASBA closely monitors the government’s actions affecting you and your family. Check back each month for the latest news from Washington, D.C.

James C. Musser, Esq. is a legislative consultant based in Falls Church, Virginia. His reports are updated monthly.