Raising the Quality of the Entitlements Debate

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By USDR.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp announced that the Committee is accepting public comments on bipartisan proposals to reform Medicare and Social Security as part of an effort to engage Americans in the discussion about preserving the nation’s entitlement programs.

The Campaign to Fix the Debt, a nonpartisan movement asking lawmakers to work together on legislation large enough to stabilize and reduce the national debt as a share of the economy, applauded release of a ‘discussion draft’ of proposals to affix Social Security’s measure of inflation to the chained CPI.

“The discussion draft showed concrete ways in which we could switch to the most accurate measure of inflation and thus pay benefits at levels reflecting the intent of the law – no more and no less – while also protecting those beneficiaries who would otherwise be adversely affected by the policy change. Ideally, we would switch to the correct measure of inflation throughout both sides of the budgetary ledger.

“By showing that there are ways to switch to the chained CPI while insulating the most vulnerable, the discussion draft echoes President Obama’s budget, which also offered ideas on how to approach the chained CPI while protecting these same groups. The Campaign to Fix the Debt applauds Chairman Camp for adding to this important discussion,” said Maya MacGuineas, who, in addition to leading the Campaign to Fix the Debt is the President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan organization focused on educating the public on issues related to fiscal policy.

According to a statement, members of the Campaign to Fix the Debt come from a broad range of social, economic, and political perspectives with the belief that America’s growing debt burden threatens our future, and that we must address it now. The Campaign will mobilize key communities – including leaders from business, government, and policy – and people all across America who want to see elected officials step up to solve our nation’s fiscal challenges.