THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PRESERVE SOCIAL SECURITY & MEDICARE
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December 1, 2010

NEWS RELEASE

National Committee President/CEO Barbara Kennelly’s Statement on
Fiscal Commission Report Release

“The report released by the President’s Fiscal Commission today continues to lack the balanced approach to deficit and debt reduction the American people have said clearly and repeatedly they expect.  Social Security never had a legitimate place in any deficit reduction discussion.  Yet this Fiscal Commission report relies heavily on benefit cuts impacting working Americans to pay the price of failed economic policies of the past. It’s clear that too many in Washington will continue to search for a way to reduce Social Security benefits in order to avoid repaying the $2.6 trillion dollars in bonds currently credited to Social Security.

If we’re truly concerned about the future of middle-class America, then strengthening Social Security by closing its modest funding gap is a critical first step.  But the policy choices we make in strengthening Social Security should be guided by what’s good for the program and not what’s wrong with the budget.  Washington must stop ignoring the critical role Social Security continues to play for older Americans, their families and the economy as a whole. This report does not meet that very basic standard of fiscal fairness and that is why it should not receive the 14 required commission votes to proceed. ”…Barbara B. Kennelly, President/CEO 
 

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