GOP Senators on TV Lauding Their Pay Seniors Social Security in Default Bill

Washington is obligated to pay Social Security benefits, but a Congressional Research Service report last month confirmed that the Treasury Department can delay them if necessary.
"Social Security benefit payments may be delayed or jeopardized if the Treasury does not have enough cash on hand to pay benefits," reads the report, which notes that the Treasury occasionally needs to issue debt to pay benefits, and a failure to raise the ceiling could make that impossible.
A Government Accountability Office report several decades ago also said it is "generally recognized" that, in the event of a national default, the government would be precluded from honoring some obligations -- including Social Security benefits, employee wages and other payments.