House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today that he would support raising the Social Security retirement age to 70 to help pay for the war in Afghanistan. "If you have substantial non-Social Security income while you're retired, why are we paying you at a time when we're broke?" he said to the paper in an interview.
Democrats are pouncing on Boehner's remarks, arguing that they foreshadow the approach to government Republicans would take if they win control of Congress in the 2010 midterm elections.
Boehner's comments come as lawmakers in both parties, but especially Republicans, have expressed concern with the growing national debt. Boehner said in the interview that entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare will need to be reformed to address the problem.
Boehner also criticized President Obama's proposal to revamp Wall Street, which is working its way through Congress. Boehner compared the measure to "killing an ant with a nuclear weapon."
Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who chairs the campaign arm of House Democrats, said the comments are a "wake-up call to the American people about the dangers of turning back the clock to a Republican Congress."
The Boehner interview is available here.
Updated at 6:01 p.m. ET. Boehner spokesman Michael Steel notes that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., discussed a similar idea during a speech this month. "On the spending side, we could and should consider a higher retirement age, or one pegged to lifespan; more progressive Social Security and Medicare benefits; and a stronger safety net for the Americans who need it most.," Hoyer said in the speech.
(Reported by Naomi Jagoda)