Mike Lawler, the House member for New York's 17th District, voted for a law that loads $168.6 billion in added costs onto Social Security over a decade, a program that paid benefits to 3,838,030 New Yorkers at the end of 2024.
Lawler voted in May and July 2025 for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which lowers the income tax on benefits, revenue that partly flows to the trust funds, and pulls the retirement fund's projected depletion three months earlier, into late 2032. When that fund runs dry, the average New York beneficiary stands to lose $511 a month, by a Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimate.
Mike Lawler's Votes on Social Security's Finances
- Lawler's Two 2025 Votes Went to a Law Saddling Social Security With $168.6 Billion in Costs. Mike Lawler voted yes on July 3, 2025 as the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed 218 to 214, after his vote on May 22 helped the House version through 215 to 214. Because part of the income tax on benefits is credited to the trust funds, cutting that tax raises Social Security's net costs. The program's chief actuary put the figure this way: "the total net increase in OASDI program cost is estimated to be $168.6 billion" over 2025 through 2034.
- Retirees Face a 24% Benefit Cut Three Months Sooner Under the Tax Law Lawler Voted For. On July 3, 2025, Lawler added his yes to the final law's cut in the income tax on Social Security benefits, and the retirement trust fund's projected run-out has moved up by three months as a result, PLANADVISER reports. When the retirement trust fund runs out, in the projection of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, "all retirees are projected to be subject to an immediate 24% benefit cut."
What the Social Security Changes Mike Lawler Voted For Mean for New York Beneficiaries
- 3.84 million New Yorkers draw Social Security, 145,125 of them in Lawler's district. Social Security paid benefits to 3,838,030 New Yorkers in December 2024, 2,908,411 of them retired workers and 417,128 disabled workers, and to 145,125 people in New York's 17th District, among them 116,241 retired workers and 11,089 disabled workers, the Social Security Administration reports; a retirement fund shortfall that arrives sooner puts retirees' and survivors' checks at risk sooner.
- A shortfall would cut benefits for 3.4 million New Yorkers by $511 a month on average. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the cut at insolvency would hit 3.4 million New Yorkers, 16.9% of the state's population, and lower their average monthly benefit by $511.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mike Lawler on Social Security
What is Mike Lawler's record on Social Security under Trump?
Mike Lawler's May and July 2025 votes went to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, whose added cost to Social Security the program's chief actuary puts at $168.6 billion through 2034, and which moves the retirement fund's shortfall three months earlier. New York had 3,838,030 Social Security beneficiaries at the close of 2024.
When could Social Security checks in the Hudson Valley be cut under the law Mike Lawler voted for?
Under the law Mike Lawler voted for, Social Security's retirement trust fund is projected to run short in the "fourth quarter of 2032, three months earlier than previously expected," PLANADVISER reports, and CRFB expects an across-the-board cut at that point. In New York's 17th District, 116,241 retired workers were among the 145,125 people receiving Social Security in December 2024.
How much would a Social Security cut take out of New York's economy after Mike Lawler's vote?
The cut at insolvency that Mike Lawler's vote brings three months closer would take $19.7 billion a year in benefits away from New Yorkers, equal to 0.8% of the state's economy, the same CRFB analysis estimates.
Last updated: 2026-10-27