Should the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund receive 10% of revenue earned from public lands?
This bill requires 10% of revenue earned from public lands (under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service) through onshore and offshore energy development, livestock grazing and timber harvesting to be deposited into the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund. This fund is used to provide Social Security benefits to survivors of deceased workers and retirees.
Sponsor: Rep. Paul Gosar (Republican, Arizona, District 9)
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Opponents say
• "Rep. Gosar claims that if the LASSO Act had been in place for fiscal year 2023, it would have added nearly $2 billion to Social Security, reducing the trust fund’s annual shortfall by 3 percent. However, this calculation ignores that the real annual shortfall was $133.4 billion, double Gosar’s estimate. This discrepancy arises because Rep. Gosar counts $63 billion of the trust fund’s interest income as part of its revenues—a common mistake due to the complex way the trust fund operates. In reality, this figure represents interest on trust fund assets that exist only on paper. When the Treasury pays interest to the Social Security trust fund, it borrows the money from the public, adding to the federal debt. The trust fund is an intragovernmental accounting mechanism, not a savings depository. As such, the $2 billion in land revenues would cover just 1.5 percent of the annual gap, barely making a dent in Social Security’s mounting fiscal woes. Moreover, public land revenues are projected to stay roughly the same for 2024 and 2025, while the OASI cash-flow gap is expected to grow significantly, further diminishing the significance of these external funds." Source: CATO Institute
Proponents say
• "This legislation is a win-win. The LASSO Act shores up the component of the Social Security trust funds that pays Social Security benefits to retired workers, their spouses, their children, and survivors of deceased insured workers. It also unlocks domestic energy potential by encouraging activities that generate revenue on public land, including onshore and offshore energy development, livestock grazing, and timber harvesting. This maintains the federal government’s obligation to promote the highest use of public lands. Despite this obligation, our public lands are underperforming, and more than 1.6 million acres of public lands were locked up under the Biden Administration, threatening U.S. economic prosperity and national security."
Source: Rep. Paul Gosar (Republican, Arizona, District 9)
• "Americans for Limited Government strongly supports the efforts by U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar in H.R.34 to shore up the Social Security trust funds with revenues generated from lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior. With the Social Security trust funds due to run out in less than a decade, Congressman Gosar’s legislation is timely and essential, and I urge immediate consideration by House leadership. This works very well with President Donald Trump’s plans establishing a long overdue sovereign wealth fund for the U.S that can also be used to help save Social Security and Medicare and maybe even help to balance the budget just by getting a better rate of return for taxpayers. For too long, elected representatives have overlooked the need to shore up the trust funds and so I thank Congressman Gosar and President Trump for their leadership and bold ideas to keep America’s promise to seniors." Source: Robert Romano at Americans for Limited Government
- Gosar Introduces Legislation to Shore Up the Social Security Trust Fund (Press Release)
- Examining the LASSO Act and Its Place in Social Security Reform (AMAC Foundation)
- Visualizing Older Americans’ Future Well-Being (Urban Institute)
- Social Security: Lessons for Reform (Tax Foundation)
- Social Security: Options to Raise Revenues (Peter G. Peterson Foundation)
- Rep. Paul Gosar’s Biggest Donors (OpenSecrets)
