Durbin Announces Bipartisan Proposal To Initiate Congressional Action To Strengthen Social Security On The Senate Floor

July 14, 2026 Durbin Announces Bipartisan Proposal To Initiate Congressional Action To Strengthen Social Security On The Senate Floor Durbin: “Americans sent us to Congress not to observe the problems but to solve the problems. There is no greater long-term challenge before Congress than preserving Social Security.” WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced new bipartisan legislation to initiate Congressional action on extending Social Security’s solvency. The Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone ( PROMISE ) Act follows the release of the Social Security Board of Trustees’ annual report, which found that the Social Security Trust Fund will only be able to cover 78 percent of benefits in 2032—meaning that Americans who rely on the program will have their benefits reduced by 22 percent if Congress does not act. “Last month the Social Security Board of Trustees released an alarming report on the status of Social Security’s finances. That Board found that Social Security will be unable to make full payments to eligible Americans by 2032… This is alarming—and it is a call to arms for Congress,” said Durbin. During his speech, Durbin reflected on the time he served in the House of Representatives when then-President Ronald Reagan and a Democratic House majority bought 50 years of solvency for Social Security. “That was 1983 [and] I voted for it. Democrats and Republicans all voted for it. To my knowledge, not a single member of Congress lost reelection over that vote. People said we had to do it,” said Durbin. “Now the question is: Can we respond with the same bipartisan effort to buy 50 years more solvency in Social Security? I think we can.” “In just six short years, Social Security will only be able to pay 78 percent of benefits. That means the average senior faces monthly benefits cuts of $450… For some, that cut is an inconvenience. For others, that’s quite a disaster. And it would force seniors to choose between purchasing groceries or paying their utility bills or refilling their prescriptions,” Durbin continued. Seventy million Americans, including seniors and people with disabilities, rely on Social Security to afford the basics: food, medication, housing, utilities, and more. In Illinois, more than 2 million people receive Social Security. Twenty percent of Illinois seniors rely on Social Security for virtually all of their income. “If Congress sits on its hands and does nothing to respond to this looming crisis, millions of Americans will be expected to make ends meet with fewer-and-fewer dollars each month. The fact of the matter is that Congress has known about this issue of insolvency for quite some time. But year-after-year, Congress has avoided confronting the question, instead kicking the can down the road for a future Congress to step up and save the program. That is unacceptable. We owe it to our seniors, and we owe it to ourselves. We know that the longer we wait, the more drastic the policy changes become,” said Durbin. “Today, I’m doing something that is rarely done in the Senate, introducing a bill sponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators—four Democrats and four Republicans. Our goal is to protect and strengthen Social Security. Our bill is called the PROMISE Act. It seeks to create a fair, bipartisan process to ensure Congress finally debates and votes on the future of Social Security. Under our proposal, the independent bipartisan Social Security Advisory Board would collect public input and send a proposal to Congress that would keep the trust fund for Social Security solvent for 50 years, at least. That would kick start a process in both the House and the Senate, to do something we rarely, rarely do around here. It’s called legislating, writing a law, [and] passing a law. Under our bill, Congress would have the opportunity to hold hearings, offer amendments, debate, competing proposals, and ultimately vote on them,” said Durbin. “[Our] bill simply guarantees that the American people, through their elected representatives, finally have an open, transparent debate… Members would be able to offer substitute proposals, provided they also protect Social Security for at least the next 50 years. Let me say that another way: every Member with a serious proposal would have the opportunity to bring their ideas to the table and get a vote. It restores the Senate to debating, amending, and voting under regular order, compared to what we see today,” said Durbin. “The PROMISE Act finally creates a pathway for those ideas to receive the consideration they deserve. Americans sent us to Congress not to observe the problems but to solve the problems. There is no greater long-term challenge before Congress than preserving Social Security… So, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. We will be working to pass this measure before we depart for the August recess,” Durbin concluded. Durbin introduced the proposal with U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Angus King (I-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Alan Armstrong (R-OK). Video of Durbin’s floor speech is available here . Audio of Durbin’s floor speech is available here . Footage of Durbin’s floor speech is available here for TV Stations. -30- Print Email Share Tweet