Whitehouse, Sanders: “Disconnect Between Administration and the Senate”By: David Dayen - FDL
Friday July 8, 2011 9:35 am
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Senators Bernie Sanders and Sheldon Whitehouse just held a conference call on the proposed Social Security cuts in the debt limit talks. And the takeaway was to inform the White House that they shouldn’t assume that Democrats will simply follow whatever deal they make, particularly if it includes cuts to the safety net.
“There’s been very little conversation between the Senate and the White House on this,” said Whitehouse, who acknowledged that most of his information about the proposal came from reading the papers. “They are making a grievous mistake if they assume that, because we’re Democrats, we’ll go along with what they’ve capitulated to.”
Sanders agreed. “I have heard, including from people that you might not expect, that if they bring a deal that comes down hard on the most vulnerable members of society, and they expect us to pass it, they have another thing coming.” He added, “The Democratic caucus will not willy-nilly follow the President.”
Now there are going to be plenty of people, including the proprietor of this website, inclined not to believe a word of this. I’m not blind to this point. I think all members should hear from their constituents on this issue no matter what they say in public. But this did sound a bit different. I don’t know that Whitehouse and Sanders would be needed for votes on a deal like this, so they can speak a little more freely. What is interesting is the intimation from Sanders that members who the Administration would have to count on would oppose this deal as well. And there’s the frustration over the total lack of communication on the issue.
What Sanders and Whitehouse did know is that chained CPI, the main item up for discussion in the talks, is a benefit cut. The Social Security actuary estimates that, under this new calculation for the cost of living adjustment, an average beneficiary who enters Social Security at age 65 would lose $500 a year at age 75, and $1,000 a year at age 85. “People in Washington may not know that there are Americans trying to get by on $13-$14,000 a year,” Sanders said. “For someone who is struggling, $1,000 a year is a hell of a lot of money. What we know is that the current COLA is inadequate because it doesn’t place as much emphasis on health care and prescription drugs,” the main cost drivers for seniors.
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More:
http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/07/08/whitehouse-sanders-disconnect-between-administration-and-the-senate/:kick:
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