President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak from the Oval Office at 1 p.m. Eastern on Thursday to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on 14 August 1935. A draft presidential proclamation obtained by several outlets lauds the program as a “monumental legislative achievement” and pledges to keep it solvent for future generations. Trump will spotlight provisions in the recently enacted “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which the administration says eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for roughly 88 percent of recipients—described as the largest senior tax cut in U.S. history. The White House puts the current beneficiary count at nearly 72 million Americans. Administration officials also cite operational gains at the Social Security Administration: average wait times on the national helpline have fallen to six minutes from 30 a year ago, and more than 3.1 million payments totaling about $17 billion were issued five months ahead of schedule. Upgrades to online and phone systems are said to be handling 70 percent more calls than last year. Democrats dispute the rosy picture, arguing that workforce reductions and modernization plans amount to a bid to privatize the agency. Lawmakers this week unveiled the Hands Off Our Social Security Act, which would require congressional approval for major staffing cuts or field-office closures. Separately, the Social Security Expansion Act seeks to raise benefits by $2,400 a year and extend the program’s solvency. The partisan clash unfolds against warnings from the program’s trustees that the retirement trust fund could be depleted as early as 2032-33. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that, absent action, a typical couple retiring that year would face an $18,400 annual benefit cut. Trump is expected to frame his policy changes as evidence the program can be safeguarded without reducing benefits.