In Letter, House Dems Tell Obama To Leave Social Security Alone (or risk losing their support)

[kpete]

Source: Talking Points Memo

In Letter, House Dems Tell Obama To Leave Social Security Alone
Brian Beutler | April 12, 2011, 6:20PM

House Democrats just sent a letter to President Obama warning him not to cut Social Security as part of the deficit reduction program he'll outline Wednesday, or risk losing their support.

"As you know, 137 members of the United States Congress signed a letter last year opposing any cuts to Social Security Benefits, including raising the retirement age," write Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), in a letter obtained by TPM.

"The signatories also stated their opposition to any effort to privatize Social Security, in whole or in part... we believe that any discussion of long-term debt issues must consider the strong fiscal integrity of Social Security--which is prohibited by law from adding to the national budget deficit and will have built a $4.3 trillion surplus by 2023."

We remain concerned that the Bowles-Simpson proposal may serve as a starting point for budget negotiations. We consider this plan to be flawed in several key areas, especially with respect to its proposed cuts to Social Security Benefits. We believe that any proposal that includes cuts to a popular, fiscally sound program lacks credibility and does not reflect the political center.



Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/in-letter-house-dems-warn-obama-to-leave-social-security-alone.php?ref=fpblg

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