The Board Benefit cuts if congress doesnt act. Once they are kpaused Social Security will only be able to pay 77 of promised benefits. Thats wrong and unacceptable. They also tell us today it would take 12. 5 trillion to make it valueva solvant. The number gets bigger every year. In 2011 when i first held a hearing on a Trustees Report it was 6. 5 trillion. Fixing it will require tough choices, choices that will effect the lives of millions of americans. I can tell you they arent easy choices. We all may have differing views on how to solve it. But not talking about the problem wont make it go away. If we wake until the trust funds are exhausted the choices become more difficult and more or some of the options wont be on the table any longer. Last december aintrodui introdu friend to fix Social Security. Mr. Larson also has a plan and i appreciate my friends recognition and Social Security is in trouble. While our plans are very different they both fix Social Security permanently. I believe any plan to fix Social Security should do so permanently. Social security is too important not to give workers and their families that certainty. Its not enough to just push out the trust fund exhaustion date bay few years. I believe it should meet the following principals. It should moerndize Social Security to reflect todays workers and their families. Second, it should reward hard work. Third, it should protect the most vulnerable and lastly it should improve retirement curt. Millions of americans rely on this Important Program now and millions more pay in with the expectation of future benefits. Congress has a responsibility to the American People to make sure our children and grandchildren can count on Social Security just like seniors and individuals with disabilities do today. We need to take this responsibility seriously americans wont need and deserve anything less. I recognize mr. Larson. Thank you. We are in concurrence. We could give one anothers speeches at this particular point. Congress should be about the vitality of ideas. It will meet the test of the 75 year requirement. While the news we receive today is better than some might have accepted on the disability side it does remain our desire, and i believe that to be true of everybody to reach a conclusion where we make this solvant for all generations. We do have plans but with the general concept in mind we want to make Social Security sol vant into the next century. We think its unacceptable that they retire into poverty. We think it unacceptable that it has been determined by a cpi that doesnt actually reflect what the real cost that the elderly incur are. We think it unacceptable that we havent really changed Social Security since 1983. Its an insurance program. Have any of your insurance premiums gone up since 1983 . Of course they have. We think its vitally important to make sure that we look at this and combine both the old age and retirement and disability together and then provide the assistance to make sure the program is solvant. We believe we have to increase the contribution to the fund. These are difficult as mr. Johnson indicated. If you phase that in we will be doing what should have been done in 83. Index this in a way as it kept pace it with the concerns of a population of the modest increases that would be necessary. This takes us into well beyond the 75 year period by following these adjustments and also making clear that we need to enhance the program on behalf of so many beneficiaries. We also believe that many seniors who find themselves in the work force deserve a tax break. By indexing this appropriately from what was done in 1983 to as mr. Johnson said what needs to be done today to modern size it we are v a lot of talent. It could also produce systems that dont provide the best up to date information that we could have. So i concur with the chairman. I thank him. We are looking forward to having a hearing on this where we are able to put the vitality of ideas to the test with both competing programs and what i hope will be a great solution for the American People. Thank you mr. Larson. I appreciate your comments. Do you care to make a comment . I have a dozen questions. A dozen questions . Well, well let you have two. How is that . Any members to submit a statement for the record before we move onto testimony today i want to remind our witnesses to please limit your oral statement to five minutes. We have one witness seated at the table is steven goss. Welcome to our hearing. Thank you for being here. Please proceed. Thanks very much chairman johnson and members of the committee to come and talk to you again about the status of these trust funds. As you all know the Social SecurityTrustees Report has been coming out every single year starting 1941 updating you on what the status of the program is. Our challenges are in the future to assure that the scheduled benefits will be able to be paid to all future generations and in full. This year we project the comb e combined trust funds to deplete the reserves in 2034. There would be continuing income coming in to pay there after for the future about 75 of scheduled benefits, not what is desire