Top GOP lawmaker believes he can 'fix' Social Security

A top House Republican wants to raise the retirement age for social security benefits to save the program from a projected 2033 insolvency deadline.

Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., released a budget last month that included conservative proposals to cut federal spending and extend the life of social security. If nothing is done, the critical program will face a roughly 20% cut in 2034.

One option Hern argued for is raising the full retirement benefits eligibility age from 67 to 69 – a politically fraught idea that mainstream leaders in both parties have been hesitant to touch.

"If you look at it, there’s only three options you can do to fix Social Security… one is you adjust the age, the second thing is you adjust what gets paid out of the program, and the third thing is… there's more people working that pay into the program," Hern said.

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On the subject of age specifically, Hern pointed out that the average life expectancy in the U.S. was in the early 60s when Social Security began. Today, the average life expectancy is in the late 70s.

"So you’re living [more] years on a program that was never designed to… be that way," Hern said.

The RSC is a large bloc of conservative House Republicans, accounting for roughly 80% of the conference.

The White House seized on the group’s budget proposal as a political cudgel, accusing Republicans of wanting to gut Social Security.

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"This is just another failed attempt by Joe Biden to push aside an issue that's very important to retirees out there," Hern told Fox News Digital of the backlash. "Our budget