REPUBLICANS SET STAGE TO SLASH SOCIAL SECURITY AND DISABILITY BENEFITS

By Miriam Raftery

January 10, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – On the first day of the new Congressional session, House Republicans pushed through a rule change that advocates for senior citizens and the disabled warn will lead to major benefit cuts for retirees and people on disability.

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) legislative policy director calls the action “a mistake” that could lead to devastating 20% cuts for people dependent on disability payments as well as negative impacts for retirees--including reductions in benefit payments and another rise in retirement age, which is already set to go up from age 65 to 67.

Without a single Democratic vote, House Republicans pushed through a rule change that prohibits members from approving any financial fix to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program unless it is tied to broader “reforms” in Social Security that critics including the AARP say will lead to privatization of the program and weakening of benefits.  

The problem is that disability  is set to run out of money by late 2016, due mainly to an aging population and more people who are disabled. By late 2016 payroll tax revenues for disability will be down 81%, forcing a mandatory cut in benefits of 19% unless Congress takes action.  Disability recipients are currently living on only about $14,000 a year.

 In the past, Congress has easily fixed the same problem by shifting money back and forth between Social Security (SSI) and disability funds (both ways).  That’s what the AARP and other advocates for seniors want done now.  But that’s not allowed under the new rules.

“This is a blatant attempt on the first day members take office to sneak a rule into the process that virtually guarantees devastating cuts for beneficiaries of the Social Security disability system,” says David J. Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, Yahoo News Reports.

AARP’s legislative policy director David Certner says the rule change sets a deadline that if Congress fails to meet, will force deep cuts. He notes that “over the last couple of years, we’ve seen Congress seemingly unable to pass bills, even with deadlines in front of them.”

 On page 32 of the new House rules is a clause that lets any  House member raise a point of order to object if the House tries to pass a bill shifting money from SSI to the disability fund.  The House could override the objection in theory, but with virtually all Republicans in support of the rule change, that appears less likely than snow in San Diego in July.

Cristina Martin Firvida, director of financial security at AARP, says the action “won’t provide a good result for American taxpayers,” Reuters reports.

Reuters columnist Mark Miller observers that by sneaking in the rule change, “legislators wouldn’t have to explain a vote for benefit cuts to their constituents before the elections and might avoid accountability if changes to Social Security get tacked on to an omnibus spending bill or other year-end legislation.”

Back when he was in the Senate, Barack Obama warned the public about then-President George W. Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security to benefit Wall Street corporations to the detriment of retirees and the disabled.  He warned that proponents of the scheme used the word “reform” when they meant “privatize” and said “strengthen” when the really meant “dismantle” the program.  “They tell us there’s a crisis to get us all riled up so we’ll sit down and listen to their plan to privatize.”

The provision’s author,  Republican Congressman Tom Reed of New York, says shifting money from one fund to another is a “short-term Band Aid” but offers no long term solution. 

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) says Republicans “want to make sure we improve the integrity of the Social Security trust fund across the board” but provides no details no how.  Political analysts suggest the Republican plan will likely involve the privatization of Social Security with retirees payroll tax funds invested in Wall Street, a prospect that would enrich private corporations with no assurance that the fund would be stable or that benefits would not be slashed.

So what other solution is there?

A poll by the National Academy of Social Insurance in 2014 found that the public overwhelmingly supports increasing payroll taxes in order to increase Social Security benefits. In short, people are willing to pay a bit more to assure an adequate retirement income – and cuts are absolutely opposed by most Americans in all parties.  The survey found that 72% of Americans believe Congress should consider increasing benefits, and a whopping 77% would be willing to pay higher taxes for that purpose.  That includes 69% of Republicans, 84% of Democrats and 76% of independent voters.

“The president should propose expansion legislation,” Miller suggests, though since the Republican party opposes raising any taxes, the prospect of such a measure passing in the current Congress is virtually nil.  In that event, Miller proposes, “Democratic presidential and Congressional candidates should run on Social Security expansion in 2016 and work to assure that reform isn’t tackled in an unaccountable lame duck vote.”

Voters concerned about this issue may wish to contact their member of Congress to voice their views on the rule change and the future of Social Security and Disability programs.  Below is a list with contact information for the San Diego regions Congressional members.  If you don't know who your representative in Congress is, you can type in your zip code and look it up here: www.house.gov/writerep  .

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

San Diego’s Eastern Region includes all or portions of 5 Congressional districts:

49th district – Daryl Issa (R)

e-mail:  http://issa.house.gov/contact/contact-me

Washington:  Phone (202) 225-3906; fax (202) 225-3303

Vista:  Phone (760) 599-5000; fax (760)  599-1178

Website:  www.house.gov/issa

District office: 1800 Thibodo Road, #310 Vista, CA 92083

Website: http://issa.house.gov/

50th district – Duncan Hunter (R)

e-mail: https://forms.house.gov/hunter/webforms/zipauthen_contact.shtml

Washington D.C.  Phone: 202-225-5672 Fax: 202-225-0235

El Cajon:  Phone: 619-448-5201 Fax: 619-449-2251

District office:  1611 Magnolia Ave., Suite 310 El Cajon, CA 92020

Website: http://www.hunter.house.gov/

51st district -  Juan Vargas (D)

e-mail: https://vargas.house.gov/contact/email-me

Washington D.C. Phone: 202-225-8045 Fax: 202-225-9073

San Diego Phone: 619-422-5963 Fax: 619-422-7290

District office:  333 F Street, #A Chula Vista, CA 91910-2624

Website: http://vargas.house.gov/

52nd District -- Scott Peters (D)

e-mail:  http://scottpeters.house.gov/contact

2410 Rayburn House Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20515

Phone: 202-225-0808 Fax: 202-225-2558

4350 Executive Drive, Suite 105 San Diego, CA 92122

 Phone: 858-455-5550

Website: http://scottpeters.house.gov/

53rd district:  Susan Davis (D)

e-mail:  www.house.gov/susandavis/contact.shtml

Washington: Phone: (202) 225-2040; Fax: (202) 225-2948

San Diego:  Phone: (619) 280-5353; Fax: (619) 280-5311

District office: 2700 Adams Avenue, #102 San Diego, CA 92116

Website: www.house.gov/susandavis