Some Republican lawmakers are moving away from the party’s longstanding opposition to tax increases as Social Security faces a projected 22% reduction in benefits when its retirement trust fund is depleted in 2032. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have proposed eliminating the payroll tax cap, while Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said higher tax rates and taxable income should be considered. Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania also said additional payroll revenue could be part of a solution, alongside measures such as raising the retirement age and means-testing benefits. Social Security provides monthly payments to more than 70 million Americans and is the largest program in the $7.4 trillion federal budget, with $1.7 trillion in projected spending this year. Workers and employers each pay 6.2% on wages up to the $184,500 taxable maximum. The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates that closing the financing gap would require $459 billion in cuts or new revenue in 2033 alone, while the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says eliminating the cap without increasing benefits for high earners would close more than half the shortfall. The debate revives bipartisan approaches used in 1983 and considered by later commissions, but Republicans remain divided over whether tax increases would be politically more damaging than benefit cuts.