So Rep. Joe Heck, do you still think social security is a "pyramid scheme?"

It's a question the freshman Republican congressman from Nevada and his communications team desperately tried to avoid Wednesday night during a town hall meeting that was meant only to discuss veterans' Affairs issues in Henderson, Nevada.

The question didn't come immediately, but one veteran in attendance questioned Heck's support of the entitlement program altogether.

"I just want to know, where do you stand on protecting our benefits as far as social security, for those who will need it and those who are getting it now, and Medicare, sir?" asked the veteran, who served 14 years in the Air Force.

"The fact is, I'm committed to preserving both benefits," said the Nevada lawmaker. "But for future generations, there may need to be changes for long-term sustainability." (read more)

On a media tour to promote his book, "The Tea Party Goes to Washington," freshman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., condemned current efforts by both parties in Congress to cut the deficit as a looming deadline quickly approaches for a government shutdown.

"You have to do much more. We're not even close," Paul told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday, saying even the $100 billion in House GOP-backed spending cuts to this year's budget would still dramatically increase the debt over 10 years, to the tune, Paul said, of $11 trillion.

The senator, a co-founder of the four-strong Senate Tea Party Caucus, flatly rejected a proposal by Senate Democrats on Tuesday to temporarily extend government funding beyond the current March 4 deadline, while lawmakers negotiate a compromise to avoid a shutdown. Paul said members must look at reforming entitlement programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, as well as trimming defense spending. (read more)

Kentucky Republican Rand Paul is the author of a sweeping bill to cut $500 billion in domestic and defense spending - and Social Security is next up on the chopping block, the Tea Party freshman said Tuesday.

"Many here in official Washington think $500 billion is too dramatic," he said on FOX News. "When I go to a Tea Party, they say, ‘What about the other trillion dollars you're spending that you don't have?' The American people are ready for spending cuts."

Paul's proposal, which would be enacted over a year's time, slashes government funding to 2008 levels. Cuts in education, energy, and housing are among the top of the list - followed by proposals to slim down the Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security.

"What we chose to do with this bill, is we address military spending, we did address domestic spending, but we wanted to prove to those in Washington and in America that you can cut $500 billion and not touch entitlements," he said. (read more)