Trustee Thomas R. Saving to Testify Before Senate Committee
WASHINGTON (July 28, 2003) — In conjunction with a bipartisan effort to reform federal prison industries (FPI), two former chief economists at the Department of Labor (DOL) in the Clinton and Bush administrations will address a Capitol Hill briefing tomorrow on the critical importance of inmate work programs and HR 1829, which is currently headed for a floor vote.
Saving noted that the funding drain on both Social Security and Medicare will begin soon and accelerate rapidly:
- Federal revenues dedicated to Social Security and Medicare will no longer be sufficient to fund both programs in 2008, just five years from now.
- By 2013, five percent of all federal income tax receipts will be needed to cover benefits promised by both programs.
- By 2040, Social Security and Medicare will require nearly half (47%) of all federal income tax receipts.
"Any redemption of the assets in these programs' Trust Funds will require resources from somewhere else in the federal budget," he added.