Required by law to show it [UG88qPYPeuz]
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R–LA) questioning Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel, Senate Finance Committee, 11 March 2026. Two things are both true. Current law requires a benefit cut once the trust fund is exhausted. And CBO is required by law to project benefits being paid in full after that point anyway. Swagel confirms it directly: the projections show the benefits being paid in full even after the trust fund is exhausted. This is a statutory artefact rather than anyone's policy position — CBO is following the law it was given, and the law tells it to show a baseline that current law cannot fund. Hearing: CBO: Quotes were checked against the hearing audio rather than the caption track. Hearing footage is a US Government work and carries no copyright.