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Topics: News, US News, Donald Trump
Gerrard Kaonga
The US Social Security Administration has been condemned after they sent out an email following President Trump signing his new bill into law.
Donald Trump likely enjoyed his Independence Day as his ‘big beautiful bill’ was finally signed into law after being approved with a 218-214 vote.
The reconciliation bill, which the president called the 'big, beautiful bill', became rather contentious with many speaking out against it - including the president's former 'first buddy' Elon Musk.
However, Trump has continued to reiterate it helps him fulfil his campaign promises and ultimately make ‘America great again.'
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Speaking to a crowd at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 4, he said: "There can be no better birthday for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago when Congress passed the big, beautiful bill to make America great again."
The almost 1,000-page budget revamp is set to add some $3.4 trillion to the country's national debt (which currently stands at $36.2 trillion) over the next decade.
Among other things, it's set to deliver tax breaks Trump promised when he was running for president in 2024, while also cutting health and food safety programmes.
Following the bill being passed, an email sent by US Social Security Administration (SSA) reportedly claimed that the bill has eliminated taxes on benefits for most recipients. However, critics have argued this is misleading.
The previously apolitical SSA stated in an email that the bill also 'eliminates federal income taxes on social security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples'.
But New Jersey representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the House’s energy and commerce committee, took to Twitter to condemn the US Social Security Administration.
He claimed that ‘every word’ of the SSA’s email on Thursday ‘is a lie’.
He added: "This big, ugly bill doesn’t change that. It’s disturbing to see Trump hijack a public institution to push blatant misinformation."
According to a report by The Guardian, the bill does not actually eliminate federal taxes on social security due to the rule constraints of passing a bill this way.
The legislation will provide a temporary tax deduction of up to $6,000 for individuals 65-years old and older while also providing $12,000 for married seniors.
Instead, the legislation provides a temporary tax deduction of up to $6,000 for people aged 65 and older, and $12,000 for married seniors.
These benefits will start to phase out for those with incomes of more than $75,000 and married couples of more than $150,000 a year.
Kathleen Romig, a former senior adviser at the SSA during the Biden administration, also spoke to CNN and said the Trump administrations’ framing of the bill was misleading.
Romig said: "People are like: ‘Is this real? Is this a scam?’ Because it’s not what they signed up for. It doesn’t sound like normal government communications, official communications. It sounds like – you know – partisan."