¶ Overview
- Steil claimed he wanted to protect Social Security and Medicare, but instead he voted for a bill that would have triggered nearly $500 billion in Medicare cuts. He also defended DOGE as they weakened Wisconsinites’ access to the Social Security Administration with mass layoffs.
- Steil was a member of the Republican Study Committee, which advocated for raising the retirement age and increasing the cost of health care for Medicare beneficiaries.
¶ Steil Failed To Stand Up To The Trump Administration As They Weakened Social Security And Medicare
¶ Steil claimed he wanted to protect social security and medicare
8/7/25: Steil Claimed He Wanted To Protect Social Security And Medicare. According to the Racine County Eye, " And this is where some of the reforms in the legislation that passed earlier this year—that’s looking to root out waste, fraud, abuse in some of our key programs—were so essential: to make sure that we are reducing spending at the federal level to make sure that we are protecting its most important programs. So for me, as I review and analyze the different spending packages in front of Congress, I’ve often put in front of mind the need to make sure that we are properly protecting Social Security and Medicare for our seniors. Again, those are promises we made to our seniors—promises that we need to keep.’" [Racine County Eye, 8/8/25]
8/7/25: Steil Said He Would “Fight Back Against Any Potential Negative Implications Related To Medicare.” According to the Racine County Eye, "I would fight back against any negative implications as it relates to Medicare. Again, the programs that protect our seniors—what we were putting in place was work requirements in Medicaid to make sure that we’re helping people get back up and on their feet who are capable of work, but also being cognizant of those individuals that can’t work—disabled adults—that those individuals are protected. So a good question about something that we’re going to continue to keep our eye on, to make sure that we’re protecting Medicare as well as Social Security—where those were protected in the bill—and in particular, strengthening some of the other programs by putting in place some of those work requirements.’" [Racine County Eye, 8/8/25]
¶ 2025: Steil Voted For The House Republicans’ Reconciliation Bill, Which Would Trigger Nearly $500 Billion In Medicare Cuts
¶ July 2025: Steil Voted For The Final Version Of The Republican Reconciliation Bill
July 2025: Steil Voted For The Senate FY 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill That Extended $4 Trillion In Expiring Tax Cuts, Added New Tax Breaks, Appropriated $448 Billion In Defense, Border, And Immigration Enforcement Funding, Increased The SALT Deduction To $40,000, And Cut Medicaid And Other Social Programs To Offset The Costs. In July 2025, Steil voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, the “motion to concur in the Senate amendment to the bill that would permanently extend nearly $4 trillion in expiring individual and business tax cuts, create several new tax breaks and fund border and immigration enforcement and air traffic control upgrades. It would cut Medicaid and other safety net programs to partly offset the cost. Among other provisions, it would raise the statutory debt ceiling by $5 trillion and appropriate more than $448 billion in mandatory funding for Trump administration priorities and other needs, including $153 billion for defense, $89 billion for immigration enforcement, and $89.5 billion for border control and security. It also would increase the state and local tax deduction cap to $40,000 annually for five years for households making up to $500,000 a year until 2030, when it would permanently revert to $10,000.” The House passed the bill by a vote of 218 to 214. [House Vote 190, 7/3/25; Congressional Quarterly, 7/3/25; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1]
¶ May 2025: Steil Voted For The Republican Reconciliation Bill That Included Cuts To Medicaid
May 2025: Steil Voted For The FY 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill That Included $3.8 Trillion In Tax Cuts Offset By $1.5 Trillion In Spending Reductions To Programs Like Medicaid And The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In May 2025, Steil voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, “the bill that would provide for approximately $3.8 trillion in net tax cuts and $321 billion in military, border enforcement and judiciary spending, offset by $1.5 trillion in spending reductions, as instructed in the fiscal 2025 budget resolution. It would raise the statutory debt limit by $4 trillion and provide for increased spending on defense and border security, spending cuts on social safety net programs, such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It also includes a mix of tax breaks for businesses and individuals; tax increases on universities and foundations; and a phase-down of clean energy tax credits. […] It would reduce federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by requiring states to shoulder more of the cost, expand work requirements for SNAP, extend programs authorized under the 2018 farm bill, and prohibit the U.S. Department of Agriculture from increasing the cost of the Thrifty Food Program. As amended, it would cap state and local tax deductions at $40,000 for households with incomes below $500,000.” The House passed the bill by a vote of 215 to 214. [House Vote 145, 5/22/25; Congressional Quarterly, 5/22/25; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1]
- HEADLINE: "Trump And GOP’s Tax Bill Would Force Cuts To Medicare, CBO Says" [Washington Post, 5/21/25]
The Congressional Budget Office Estimated That The House Republican Reconciliation Bill Would Trigger Nearly $500 Billion In Cuts To Medicare. According to a letter the Congressional Budget Office sent to Rep. Brendan Boyle, "Today the Congressional Budget Office transmitted an estimate of the budgetary effects of the 2025 reconciliation bill, as ordered reported by the House Committee on the Budget on May 18, 2025. 1 CBO has not yet completed estimates of the effects of interactions among the titles of the legislation. This letter responds to your questions concerning the sequestration (the cancellation of budgetary resources) in accordance with the Statutory Pay‑As‑You‑Go Act of 2010 (S-PAYGO) that would occur if an enacted bill raised deficits by $2.3 trillion over 10 years. Under S-PAYGO, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is required to maintain 5- and 10-year scorecards that it updates with the estimated cumulative changes in revenues and outlays generated by newly enacted legislation. […] The 4 percent maximum reduction in Medicare spending would apply to sequestration orders for years after 2026. If OMB ordered a sequestration of $230 billion for each year through 2034, the ordered reductions in Medicare spending would increase to about $75 billion in 2034 and would total roughly $490 billion over the 2027–2034 period." [Letter to Rep. Brendan Boyle – Congressional Budget Office, 5/20/25]
¶ Steil defended Trump’s DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (DOGE), Which Weakened The Social Security Administration
February 2025: Steil Defended DOGE And Said Everybody Was In Favor Of Rooting Out “Waste, Fraud And Abuse In The Federal Government.” According to an interview with Bryan Steil on PBS Wisconsin, "QUESTION: Wouldn't there be another way to do what DOGE is doing? STEIL: I think there's a lot of ways that things can be done, but I think everybody's supportive of rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. I think as we look back over the four years of the Biden administration is spending dramatically increased in Washington. I think we all recognize there's a real opportunity to make sure that we're preventing a misuse of taxpayer dollars." [PBS Wisconsin, 2/27/25]
March 2025: Steil Suggested People Were Opposed To DOGE Just Because They Didn’t Approve Of The Trump Administration. According to WGTD, "1st District Congressman Bryan Steil—a Janesville Republican—suggested that some of the dislike of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is borne out of a misunderstanding and a hatred of the Trump administration. ‘We have a real important (task) in improving the communication to Americans about exactly how government is making these decisions, in making these changes in creating these efficiencies and helping people navigate threw many of the scare tactics that are being utilized by people that don't like the current Trump administration,’ Steil said." [WGTD, 3/25/25]
March 2025: Steil Defended DOGE By Claiming It Was A “Huge Opportunity Across The Board To Look At Waste, Fraud, And Abuse.” According to GazetteXtra, "Steil went on to take questions from Janesville, Kenosha, Racine, Saint Francis, and Walworth residents. One man asked if he felt DOGE was successful so far in its efforts to trim government spending. The congressman noted that he was glad for the question and said there is ‘a lot of misinformation as to what’s occurring in the Department of Government Efficiency.’ ‘Of all federal government spending, 25% of it is appropriated through Congress every year, about 75% of all government spending is on autopilot,’ Steil said. ‘And we have a huge opportunity across the board to look at waste, fraud, and abuse.’ He continued, ‘that’s where we should really be united in saying, ‘let’s make sure that we’re removing wasteful spending in our government.’ Inside of USAID we saw a significant number of contracts that had been signed and entered into, in the previous administration, that weren’t in alignment with America’s best interests. I think it’s really important that in particular, if we’re spending money outside the United State of America, that we are really aligned with our broader goal of driving forward America’s agenda.’" [GazetteXtra, 3/24/25]
¶ At The Social Security Administration, DOGE Forced Mass Layoffs, Longer Wait Times And Frequent Website Crashes
HEADLINE: "Social Security Stops Reporting Call Wait Times And Other Metrics" [Washington Post, 6/20/25]
HEADLINE: "As Social Security Services Are Cut Back, Millions Of Seniors Face Long Drives" [Axios, 4/8/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Website Keeps Crashing, As DOGE Demands Cuts To IT Staff" [Washington Post, 4/7/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Faces Thousands More Job Cuts Even With Service In Tailspin" [Washington Post, 4/4/25]
CBPP Said The Trump Administration Had Pushed Out 7,000 Social Security Workers. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Over the past five months, the Trump Administration has forced the Social Security Administration (SSA) through a radical transformation that threatens to disrupt services for the largely older and severely disabled people who most rely on the agency.[1] The Trump Administration and its so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have created huge gaps in customer service and support by indiscriminately pushing out 7,000 workers to hit an arbitrary staffing reduction target. This is the largest staffing cut in SSA’s history.[2] (See Figure 1.)" [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 6/23/25]
The Social Security Administration Website Crashed Four Times In Ten Days In March Because Servers Were Overloaded. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Field Office Managers At Social Security Offices Had To Answer Phones In Place Of Receptionists Because DOGE Had Pushed Out So Many Federal Employees. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
DOGE Eliminated The Social Security Administration’s System To Monitor Customer Experience. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Early February-Late March 2025: AARP Said More Than 2,000 People Per Week Had Called Expressing Concerns About Whether They Would Continue To Get Their Social Security Benefits. According to the Washington Post, "Alarmed lawmakers are straining to answer questions back home from angry constituents. Calls have flooded into congressional offices. AARP announced Monday that more than 2,000 people a week have called the retiree organization since early February — double the usual number — with concerns about whether benefits they paid for during their working careers will continue. Social Security is the primary source of income for about 40 percent of older Americans." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
¶ 2024: More Than 167,651 Wisconsinites In The 1st Congressional District Relied On Social Security Benefits
2024: 167,651 Wisconsinites In The 1st Congressional District Relied On Social Security Benefits. According to the Social Security Administration, in 2024, 167,651 Wisconsinites in the 1st congressional district received Social Security benefits. [Social Security Administration, Wisconsin, 2024]
¶ steil Was A Member Of The Republican Study Committee, Which Advocated For Raising The Retirement Age and higher health care costs
Steil Was A Member Of The Republican Study Committee.
[Official Website – Rep. Bryan Steil, viewed 6/10/26]
2023: The Republican Study Committee Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Plan Included Raising The Age Of Eligibility For Social Security Benefits To 69. According to Roll Call, “The largest bloc of House conservatives offered up a fiscal blueprint Wednesday that promises to balance the federal budget in seven years, make GOP tax cuts permanent, and slash domestic spending. The plan offered by the 175-member Republican Study Committee would gradually raise the age at which future retirees can start claiming full Social Security benefits from 67 to 69, a politically fraught proposal that’s all but certain to appear in Democratic campaign ads. The document also proposes a ‘premium support’ plan that would subsidize private insurance options that compete with traditional Medicare. That would be similar to budget plans proposed by Rep. Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., during his tenure in Congress that were panned by Democrats and some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump.” [Roll Call, 6/14/23]
2024: The Republican Study Committee Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal Included “Modest Adjustments To The Retirement Age For Future Retirees To Account For Increases In Life Expectancy.” According to the Republican Study Committee Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal, “For instance, the RSC Budget would make modest changes to the primary insurance amount (PIA) benefit formula for individuals who are not near retirement and earn more than the wealthiest PIA benefit factor. It would also make modest adjustments to the retirement age for future retirees to account for increases in life expectancy. Finally, for these individuals, it would limit and phase out auxiliary benefits for high income earners.” [Republican Study Committee FY 2025 Budget Proposal, 3/20/24]
Raising The Retirement Age Would Cost Future Retirees Thousands In Benefits Every Year
According To The Center For American Progress, Raising The Retirement Age Would Cost The Median-Wage Retiree Thousands In Benefits Every Year. According to the Center for American Progress, “One policy that has continually been included in RSC budget proposals for years is an increase to Social Security’s full retirement age (FRA), the age at which seniors become eligible to access Social Security retirement benefits without a financial penalty for retiring early. The FRA is 67 under current law, but the RSC plan would push it back to 69, leading to drastic benefit cuts for a large majority of Americans. […] This higher FRA would cut Social Security benefits. According to Center for American Progress analysis, an FRA of 69 would cut benefits for all new retirees between roughly 12.5 percent and 14.3 percent by the time it is fully phased in. In addition, it would cost a median-wage retiree who earned $70,000 in 2022 and turns 62 in 2034 thousands of dollars every year.” [Center for American Progress, 7/31/24]
- After Receiving Social Security For 10 Years, The Median-Wage Retiree Would Lose Up To $100,000 In Retirement Benefits. According to the Center for American Progress, “However, the dollar amount of the cut would not be static each year. To account for inflation, Social Security benefits are updated with cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), which the Social Security Administration expects to equal 2.4 percent each year after 2025, according to its intermediate cost projections. After accounting for these COLAs, the median-wage retiree would lose between $46,104 and $99,252 after 10 years of receiving Social Security.” [Center for American Progress, 7/31/24]
¶ The Republican Study Committee Budget Proposed Raising Health Care Costs For Seniors By Switching To A “Premium Support” System
The Republican Study Committee’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Proposed A “Premium Support” Model For Medicare Beneficiaries. According to Roll Call, "The plan offered by the 175-member Republican Study Committee would gradually raise the age at which future retirees can start claiming full Social Security benefits from 67 to 69, a politically fraught proposal that’s all but certain to appear in Democratic campaign ads. The document also proposes a ‘premium support’ plan that would subsidize private insurance options that compete with traditional Medicare. That would be similar to budget plans proposed by Rep. Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., during his tenure in Congress that were panned by Democrats and some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump." [Roll Call, 6/14/23]
2024: The Republican Study Committee’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposed A “Premium Support” Model For Medicare Beneficiaries. According to the Republican Study Committee Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal, "The RSC budget would implement a premium support model where private, Medicare Advantage (MA) plans would compete with a federal Medicare plan (the ‘Fed Plan’) that would offer the traditional Medicare benefits received through Part A, B, and D. Medicare Advantage (MA) plans provide the same services as Medicare but are administered by private health insurance providers. Under this plan, Medicare’s trust funds would be merged into a singular fund that would be responsible for paying premium support subsidies to cover the vast majority of their premium costs. This new singular trust fund would be funded with revenues from existing payroll taxes, Part B premiums, and Part B and D cost sharing—which would help ensure continued traditional Medicare benefits remain available. This framework would ensure seniors, whether they choose a private plan or the Fed Plan, receive more affordable, high-quality coverage." [Republican Study Committee FY 2025 Budget Proposal, 3/20/24]
Republicans’ Proposal To Switch To A Medicare “Premium Support” System Would Result In Most Beneficiaries Paying More For Health Care Than They Do Under Current Laws. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priority, "Under premium support, Medicare would make a fixed-dollar payment (often called a voucher) for each beneficiary to defray part of the cost of health insurance — either through a private plan or a form of traditional Medicare. The beneficiary’s premium would equal the difference between the voucher amount and the cost of the plan that he or she selected. Premium support would apply to all new beneficiaries starting in 2024 and to any other beneficiaries who chose to participate. Unlike the current system, in which Part B premiums are generally the same for all beneficiaries, premiums under the House GOP plan would vary by region and by plan. Although the GOP plan lacks the details to assess its impact on beneficiaries, most beneficiaries enrolled in traditional Medicare would pay more than under current law, according to the Congressional Budget Office. " [Center on Budget and Policy Priority, 7/26/16]