<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">Hmmm... Maybe Durbin has reasons we would support? This from ABC News back in April, 2011: <div><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"One specific change Durbin said should be considered right now is reducing Social Security benefits to the wealthy.</span>"<br><br>--- On <b>Sun, 9/23/12, David Johnson <i><dlj725@hughes.net></i></b> wrote:<br><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"><br>From: David Johnson <dlj725@hughes.net><br>Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fw: [CentralILJwJ] Reid, Senate Dems oppose Social Security cuts in debt deal - but not Durbin<br>To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;@mail0.frost.chambana.net<br>Date: Sunday, September 23, 2012, 11:30 AM<br><br><div
class="plainMail">"The Senate's number three Democrat, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.),<br>also signed the letter.<br>Notably, Whip<br>Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who supported Bowles-Simpson, did not."<br><br>Reid, Senate Dems oppose Social Security cuts in debt deal - but not Durbin<br><br><br>Note the conspicuous absence of our Democratic Senator Durbin from<br>this letter signed by 29 Democratic Members of the 53-member Senate<br>Democratic<br>caucus.<br><br><a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/250767-reid-majority-of-senate-dems-oppose-social-security-cuts-in-debt-deal" target="_blank">http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/250767-reid-majority-of-senate-dems-oppose-social-security-cuts-in-debt-deal</a><br><br>Reid, Senate Dems oppose Social Security cuts in debt deal<br>By Erik Wasson - 09/20/12 02:54 PM ET<br><br>Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and 28 other members of the<br>53-member Senate Democratic<br>caucus have
signed a letter opposing any cuts to Social Security as<br>part of a deficit reduction package.<br><br>The letter forms a significant marker as Congress looks toward a<br>possible deficit bargain in the lame-duck<br>session after the election. It says Social Security has problems down<br>the road, but that they should be dealt with<br>separately from any budget deal.<br>[...]<br>The Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction plan produced by President<br>Obama's deficit commission [actually it wasn't produced by the<br>commission, just by the co-chairs-RN] contained Social Security cuts,<br>including a change in the way inflation is calculated and an increase<br>in the retirement age.<br>[...]<br>The Senate's number three Democrat, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.),<br>also signed the letter. Notably, Whip<br>Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who supported Bowles-Simpson, did not.<br><br>The letter was organized by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mark Begich<br>(D-Alaska),
SheldonWhitehouse (DR.I.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.).<br><br>"To be sure, Social Security has its own long-term challenges that<br>will need to be addressed in the decades<br>ahead. But the budget and Social Security are separate, and should be<br>considered separately," the letter states.<br><br>Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), RonWyden (D-Ore.),<br>Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ben Cardin<br>(D-Md.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Richard Blumenthal(D-Conn.), Tom<br>Harkin (D-Iowa), JeffMerkley<br>(D-Ore.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Barbara Mikulski(D-Md.), Patty<br>Murray (D-Wash.), Barbara Boxer<br>(D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell(D-Wash.), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Tim<br>Johnson (D-S.D.), John D. Rockefeller<br>IV (D-W.Va.), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Tom Udall(D-N.M.), Robert<br>Menendez (D-N.J.), Carl Levin (DMich.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)<br>and Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) also signed on.<br><br>The letter was hailed by some groups representing
senior citizens.<br><br>“Unlike Governor Mitt Romney, the senators who signed this letter<br>understand that Social Security is earned<br>through hard work and contributions; it is not a government handout,"<br>said Nancy Altman, founding co-director<br>of Social Security Works.<br><br>-- Robert Naiman<br>Policy Director<br>Just Foreign Policy<br>www.justforeignpolicy.org<br><a ymailto="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org" href="/mc/compose?to=naiman@justforeignpolicy.org">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</a><br><br><br>------------------------------------<br><br>Yahoo! Groups Links<br><br><*> To visit your group on the web, go to:<br> <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CentralILJwJ/" target="_blank">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CentralILJwJ/</a><br><br><*> Your email settings:<br> Individual Email | Traditional<br><br><*> To change settings online go to:<br> <a
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