Social Security's Disability Insurance program is on shaky fiscal ground, and the debt ceiling -- though temporarily suspended -- will need to be addressed soon. Congress has proposed legislation to deal with both, and NTU Foundation analyzed the budgetary impact in the latest edition of The Taxpayer's Tab.
- Most Expensive: Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) introduced The National Multimodal and Sustainable Freight Infrastructure Act, which would institute a new tax on freight shipments to make $40 billion worth of infrastructure repairs over the next five years.
- Least Expensive: Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) sponsored the Social Security Disability Insurance and Unemployment Benefits Double Dip Elimination Act. It would prevent applicants for Disability Insurance from also receiving Unemployment Insurance benefits, and could save as much as $570 million per year.
- Wildcard: Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) introduced a series of bills called the Fiscal Sanity Act for the National Debt, which would suspend the debt ceiling for increasing durations -- from 30 days up to a year.
For more details, check out the Tab online.