WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema cosponsored Republican Senator Mitt Romney’s (Utah) bipartisan TRUST Act—legislation that addresses future federal spending and the growing national debt while protecting Arizonans’ retirement and health benefits through Social Security and Medicare.
“As we work to fuel a full economic recovery from the pandemic for Arizona, we must also plan for sustainable federal spending in the future. Our bipartisan, commonsense bill protects the retirement benefits Arizonans have earned and grows Arizona’s economic opportunities while helping address our nation’s debt,” said Sinema.
The Sinema-backed TRUST Act establishes bipartisan, bicameral commissions to address the long-term solvency of major trust funds. According to recent analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the highway trust fund is slated to exhaust its reserves in fiscal year 2021, the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund in fiscal year 2024, the Social Security Disability Insurance Trust Fund in fiscal year 2026, and the Social Security Old Age and Survivors Trust Fund in 2031. The TRUST Act creates a separate bipartisan commission for each federal trust fund program that spends more than $20 billion per year and is projected to be exhausted by 2035. Any recommendations from the commissions would receive a fast-tracked vote in Congress and would require bipartisan support to prevent harmful partisan solutions.
During her time in Congress, Sinema has been a champion for addressing our nation’s debt. Last Congress, Sinema introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Fiscal State of the Nation Resolution requiring the Comptroller General to present the Financial Report of the United States to all members of Congress. By requiring a nonpartisan official to present a clear, unbiased assessment of America’s economic health, members of Congress will be better educated on the country’s debt and deficit and better able to make informed economic decisions.
