Graham: Raise Retirement Age to 69
The Hill reports:
Congress should cut a deal this year to raise the retirement age to 69, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said.
Graham, who'd flirted last month with an increase in the retirement age to help address Social Security's solvency, backed a phased-in hike in the retirement age.
"As I said on 'Meet the Press,' I'm looking for a process that will lead to a vote on saving Social Security from bankruptcy this year, that would adjust the age," Graham strong>said on WVOC radio in South Carolina<.
Graham referenced as his model strong>the deal cut< between President Reagan (R) and Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill (Mass.) in the 1980s that provided for a gradual increase in the retirement age to 67.
"Ronald Reagan went from 65 to 67 with Tip O'Neill … we could use that same type system, to go from 67 to 69, for people under 55," he said.
The South Carolina senator's words are maybe the boldest stance by a Republican this Congress calling for a major change to Social Security.
Senate Democrats have sought to make the entitlement program into a political lightning rod for the GOP. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told liberal activists that major strong>changes to the program were "off the table,"< and Democrats have hammered away at any Republican proposal that even smacks of cutting or privatizing Social Security.
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