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Key House Dems urge Obama to oppose Social Security cuts
The chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus is circulating a letter to his colleagues that pressures President Obama not to sign off on Social Security cuts should his fiscal commission recommend them.
In the letter, which will be sent to the White House, CPC Chairman Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), along with Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.), argue that cutting Social Security benefits would be unfair to seniors and knock down claims that the program has added to the deficit.
"We write today to express our strong support for Social Security and our view that it should be strengthened," they write. "We oppose any cuts to Social Security benefits, including raising the retirement age. We also oppose any effort to privatize Social Security, in whole or in part."
The letter is another sign that pressure on Obama's bipartisan fiscal commission is ramping up as campaign season approaches and as the committee prepares its official recommendations to be released in December.
The commission will put forth plans for reducing the growth of
the federal deficit in December but has faced scrutiny for members of both political parties, who are worried it will propose either drastic spending cuts or tax increases to reduce the nation's growing debt.
Liberals have scrutinized the panel's work on Social Security, especially since Republican co-chairman Alan Simpson's recent comparison of the program to a "milk cow with 310 million tits."
Several lawmakers, including Grijalva, called on Obama to remove Simpson, a former Wyoming senator, as co-chairman. Simpson is a known critic of Social Security as it stands now, arguing that the entitlement program has grown too large to sustain itself.
Throughout the healthcare debate, the CPC pressured the White House and leaders in Congress to enact a public health insurance option as part of the massive healthcare bill. Though it was put in original versions, the final bill passed without it included.
The three lawmakers said in the letter that they will "stand firmly against" any Social Security cuts.
"If any of the Commission’s recommendations cut or diminish Social Security in any way, we will stand firmly against them," they wrote. "We urge you to join us in protecting and strengthening Social Security rather than letting it fall victim to a misguided attempt to reduce budget deficits on the backs of working families."
Full letter is after the jump
We write today to express our strong support for Social Security and our view that it should be strengthened. We oppose any cuts to Social Security benefits, including raising the retirement age. We also oppose any effort to privatize Social Security, in whole or in part.
You have charged the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with proposing recommendations that improve the long-term fiscal outlook and address the growth of entitlement spending. It is our view that Social Security—which is prohibited by law from adding to the national budget deficit—does not belong as part of those recommendations.
By 2023, Social Security will have built up a $4.3 trillion surplus, and, without any action, can pay at least 75 percent of all benefits thereafter. Because Social Security is funded separately from the general treasury and has no borrowing authority, it has not contributed to the federal deficit. Despite these facts, some Commission members have repeatedly alleged the need to cut Social Security for budgetary reasons.
For 75 years, Social Security has been a promise to the American people that if they work hard and pay their fair share, they will have a financially secure retirement. In communities across this country, Social Security benefits are often the only source of income helping families maintain a decent standard of living. Social Security’s benefits are modest, averaging less than $13,000 a year, but they are vital to the vast majority of Americans who receive them.
Cutting Social Security benefits further than they are already being cut by raising the retirement age from 65 to 67 would create needless hardship for millions of vulnerable Americans. This is especially true in the face of an economic downturn that has wiped out trillions of dollars that Americans were relying on for their retirement security and the increased dismantlement of the private and public pension systems.
If any of the Commission’s recommendations cut or diminish Social Security in any way, we will stand firmly against them. We urge you to join us in protecting and strengthening Social Security rather than letting it fall victim to a misguided attempt to reduce budget deficits on the backs of working families.
Sincerely,
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