Today, the Social Security Administration’s Chief Actuary sent a letter to several members of the United States Senate revealing that a proposal to eliminate the payroll tax with no plan to replace that revenue would deplete the Social Security Trust Fund by mid-2023. Donald Trump has promised to “eliminate” the payroll tax if re-elected, but has not offered a plan to replace the funding it provides to Social Security.

In response, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose district is home to more than 130,000 Social Security beneficiaries, released the following statement:

“This letter confirms what we’ve known all along — Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate the payroll tax will eviscerate Social Security. Make no mistake, if Donald Trump is re-elected, he will break his promise to Floridians and defund Social Security,” said Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz. “Trump’s sheer incompetence and mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis has already cost too many Florida seniors their lives. Now, in a state where more than 4.7 million Floridians rely on Social Security, Donald Trump is pushing forward with his agenda to cut off a critical lifeline.

“No question about it, Donald Trump has abandoned Florida seniors and made life immeasurably worse for older Americans during this public health and economic crisis.”