Senate clears Social Security board nominees

The Senate voted Monday to clear three nominations to the Social Security Advisory Board.

Henry Aaron’s nomination was confirmed on a 54-43 vote. Shortly after, the Senate approved the nominations of Alan Cohen and Lanhee Chen by voice-votes.

{mosads}Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he opposed Aaron’s nomination because he was “better suited for a position in the healthcare arena” than Social Security.

President Obama is expected to make Aaron chairman of the board.

“The nominee for board chair must demonstrate the ability to garner bipartisan agreement,” Hatch said ahead of the vote. “If we’re going to address challenges we’re going to need serious discussions to come up with serious solutions not partisan rhetoric.”

The Social Security Advisory Board is an independent board that advises Congress and the president on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income policies. In recent years, the Social Security program has been paying out more in benefits than revenue it has taken in, causing concern about the long-term viability of the entitlement.

The Senate also voted 97-0 to confirm Jill Pryor to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit. Her confirmation was the first vote senators took after returning from their five-week August recess.

The Senate is expected to be in session for just two weeks before they leave again for midterm election campaigning.