[Peace-discuss] Fw: [CentralILJwJ] Reid, Senate Dems oppose Social Security cuts in debt deal - but not Durbin

[David Johnson]

"The Senate's number three Democrat, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.),
also signed the letter.
Notably, Whip
Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who supported Bowles-Simpson, did not."

 Reid, Senate Dems oppose Social Security cuts in debt deal - but not Durbin


Note the conspicuous absence of our Democratic Senator Durbin from
this letter signed by 29 Democratic Members of the 53-member Senate
Democratic
caucus.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/250767-reid-majority-of-senate-dems-oppose-social-security-cuts-in-debt-deal

Reid, Senate Dems oppose Social Security cuts in debt deal
By Erik Wasson - 09/20/12 02:54 PM ET

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and 28 other members of the
53-member Senate Democratic
caucus have signed a letter opposing any cuts to Social Security as
part of a deficit reduction package.

The letter forms a significant marker as Congress looks toward a
possible deficit bargain in the lame-duck
session after the election. It says Social Security has problems down
the road, but that they should be dealt with
separately from any budget deal.
[...]
The Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction plan produced by President
Obama's deficit commission [actually it wasn't produced by the
commission, just by the co-chairs-RN] contained Social Security cuts,
including a change in the way inflation is calculated and an increase
in the retirement age.
[...]
The Senate's number three Democrat, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.),
also signed the letter. Notably, Whip
Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who supported Bowles-Simpson, did not.

The letter was organized by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mark Begich
(D-Alaska), SheldonWhitehouse (DR.I.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.).

"To be sure, Social Security has its own long-term challenges that
will need to be addressed in the decades
ahead. But the budget and Social Security are separate, and should be
considered separately," the letter states.

Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), RonWyden (D-Ore.),
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ben Cardin
(D-Md.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Richard Blumenthal(D-Conn.), Tom
Harkin (D-Iowa), JeffMerkley
(D-Ore.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Barbara Mikulski(D-Md.), Patty
Murray (D-Wash.), Barbara Boxer
(D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell(D-Wash.), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Tim
Johnson (D-S.D.), John D. Rockefeller
IV (D-W.Va.), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Tom Udall(D-N.M.), Robert
Menendez (D-N.J.), Carl Levin (DMich.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
and Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) also signed on.

The letter was hailed by some groups representing senior citizens.

“Unlike Governor Mitt Romney, the senators who signed this letter
understand that Social Security is earned
through hard work and contributions; it is not a government handout,"
said Nancy Altman, founding co-director
of Social Security Works.

-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org


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