Members of the Progressive Caucus are standing up against a proposal to cut Social Security benefits by changing the way we calculate inflation.
Statements from Caucus members are below:
Rep. Keith Ellison (Co-Chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus): “I am committed to standing against any benefit cuts to programs Americans rely on and tying Social Security benefits to chained CPI is a benefit cut." (Full quote)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (Co-Chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus): "Chained CPI makes life harder for millions of retirees, weakens Social Security and doesn’t reduce the deficit by a penny. It’s a Beltway fig leaf that I will never support, and I call on my colleagues to make their feelings known as soon as possible before this becomes yet another piece of conventional wisdom that makes things worse." (Full quote)
Rep. Charles Rangel: “Reducing cost of living adjustments is a Social Security benefit cut. Any deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits is unacceptable and I will oppose it.” (Full quote)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky: "We should not put a higher burden on lower-income and middle-class seniors and the millions of American families who depend on their earned benefits. To do so in order to shield the wealthiest Americans from a tax increase is nothing less than immoral.” (Full quote)
Rep. John Conyers: “Any debt deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits is unacceptable.” (Full quote)
Rep. Barbara Lee: "Any deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits is unacceptable” (Full quote)
Rep. Jerry Nadler: “I do not support any deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.” (Full quote)
Rep. John Lewis: "The reward of their hard work should not be a significant reduction in resources the longer they live and the more vulnerable they become. Something is wrong with this equation." (Full quote)
Rep. Elijah Cummings: "It is fundamentally unfair to ask our most vulnerable citizens – our elderly and our poor – to shoulder the burden for our country; it is morally wrong and unacceptable. We must do better." (Full quote)
Rep. David Cicilline: "I will vote against any agreement that imposes cuts to already modest Social Security benefits and does not ask millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share."
Rep. Jim McDermott: "Reducing cost of living adjustments is a Social Security benefit cut. Any deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits is unacceptable and I will oppose it."
