(Radio Iowa) – The Democrat who finished third in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses is now being considered for the post of commissioner of Social Security. Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley will go before the U-S Senate Finance Committee this week for his nomination hearing, and Republican Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley will be among the lawmakers asking him questions.

The long-term viability of Social Security is the subject of much concern, but Grassley says they likely won’t be talking with O’Malley about that topic during the hearing on Thursday.

Under rules that were set down in 1935, Social Security isn’t allowed to pay out more money than it takes in, and Grassley says the system will be facing a critical challenge in about a decade without key reforms.

Some 40 years ago, Social Security was in danger of failure, until House Speaker Tip O’Neill met with President Ronald Reagan to create a compromise that saved the system. Grassley says a new agreement is needed to keep things afloat for another 40 years.

Social Security is the largest federal government program. This fiscal year, the agency expects to pay out one-point-two trillion dollars in benefits to 66-million people.