House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio: Fund War by Raising the Social Security Retirement Age to 70

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio: Fund War by Raising the Social Security Retirement Age to 70

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.

[link to content.usatoday.com]