Josh Turek calls for lifting income cap on Social Security to sustain program

Social Security advocates joined Rep. Josh Turek Wednesday to speak with older adults about the U.S. Senate candidate’s commitments to preserving and expanding government systems that many Americans rely on for medical expenses and income.

Turek, campaigning for the state’s open Senate seat, told senior living center Scottish Rite Park residents that where his opponent, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, has voted to cut Social Security, Medicaid and other programs, he would instead push for further supporting the programs. Former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley and Social Security Works PAC President Jon Bauman voiced their support for Turek, saying Social Security is one of the areas where Turek and Hinson differ the most.

“Ashley Hinson has damaged Social Security, she voted to cut it,” O’Malley told reporters after the discussion. “Josh Turek will vote to improve it, improve benefits, and strengthen it for the long term.”

Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, also joined the group to throw the organization’s endorsement behind Turek. More than 12,450 people are members of the organization, Richtman said, and former U.S. senator and advisory board chairman Tom Harkin gave his “gold standard” recommendation for the endorsement.

Hinson has a low scorecard when it comes to voting on the issues important to seniors, the group stated, with Richtman and Bauman saying their organizations have both scored her votes. Bauman said a scorecard from the Alliance for Retired Americans found that “nine times out of every 10, she votes wrong for … Iowa seniors.”

This includes voting for cuts to the Social Security Administration by as much as $452 million, O’Malley said, as well as supporting Medicaid cuts and allowing DOGE to drive out 1 in 5 Social Security employees. Iowans and people across the U.S. now have a harder time seeking help from the agency when they need it, the group said, and a Social Security office in Decorah had to close due to lack of staff.

According to a June press release from Hinson, the office reopened this summer. Since Hinson took national office, Turek said as many as 842 “healthcare entities” have closed across Iowa.

“This is in a state with a healthcare crisis, a mental health crisis, and a cancer crisis. Voting to cut healthcare (means) the downstream effects are … less services, less supports, less facilities. This is fundamentally wrong,” Turek said. “I give each and every Iowa senior my pledge — I will do everything I can to protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and expand it to all of you.”

Hinson Campaign Communications Director Billy Fuerst said in an email Hinson has gone on the record in the Cedar Rapids Gazette opposing raising the retirement age, and voted in favor of both the Working Families Tax Cuts and the Social Security Fairness Act.

The July 2024 vote included a 4% decrease to staffing funding at Washington, D.C., and Baltimore Social Security Administration offices, the email stated, and no cuts to offices interacting with seniors or to benefits were included in the bill.

“Ashley Hinson has never and will never cut a penny from Social Security – she is fighting to protect it for Iowa seniors. That’s the truth no matter how desperate Josh Turek gets,” Fuerst said in an emailed statement.

Eliminating the cap on Social Security is the best option to ensure the program’s solvency in the future, Turek said. He said it’s “ridiculous” that regular Americans have to pay into Social Security year-round while the country’s wealthiest, like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, don’t have to pay any more past the $184,500 cap once they’ve met it, which happens early on each year.

Each of the officials speaking with seniors Wednesday supported the removal of income caps for Social Security taxes and the idea that millionaires and billionaires should pay more into Social Security to ensure their fellow Americans can pay their bills. If the cap was removed, O’Malley said the administration’s ability to pay out benefits through Social Security would extend past 2090.

There are other areas where people would benefit from caps, Turek said, including on insulin costs, which he sponsored a bill for in the Iowa Legislature, and on medical insurance costs within Medicare. He said he also supports negotiated drug costs and taking an “all of the above” approach to lowering costs associated with longtime care for aging or disabled Iowans.

“Two of the biggest issues we’re facing right now in the country (are) wealth divide and tax avoidance, and unfortunately, you’ve got folks like Ashley Hinson that have been up there and voted for cuts to health care, food assistance, Social Security Administration, just to give more tax breaks to these billionaires,” Turek said. “I want to fight for the people, not the billionaires.”