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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 15 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 15

Expressing the sense of Congress that the Chained Consumer Price Index 
 should not be used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for Social 
 Security or veterans benefits, or to increase the tax burden on low- 
                      and middle-income taxpayers.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 24, 2013

 Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Warren, Ms. 
Mikulski, Mr. Brown, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. 
Hirono, Mrs. Hagan, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Reed, and Mr. Begich) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                        the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Chained Consumer Price Index 
 should not be used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for Social 
 Security or veterans benefits, or to increase the tax burden on low- 
                      and middle-income taxpayers.

Whereas the Social Security program was established more than 77 years before 
        the date of agreement to this resolution and has provided economic 
        security to generations of Americans through benefits earned based on 
        contributions made over the lifetime of the worker;
Whereas the Social Security program continues to provide modest benefits, 
        averaging approximately $1,156 per month, to more than 57,000,000 
        individuals, including 37,000,000 retired workers in March 2013;
Whereas the Social Security program has no borrowing authority, has accumulated 
        assets of $2,700,000,000,000, and, therefore, does not contribute to the 
        Federal budget deficit;
Whereas the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance 
        Trust Fund projects that the Trust Fund can pay full benefits through 
        2032;
Whereas the Social Security program is designed to ensure that benefits keep 
        pace with inflation through cost-of-living adjustments (referred to in 
        this preamble as ``COLAs'') that are based upon the measured changes in 
        prices of goods and services purchased by consumers that is currently 
        published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as the Consumer Price Index 
        for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W);
Whereas the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a supplemental measure of 
        inflation, the Chained Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (C-
        CPI-U), or ``Chained CPI'', which adjusts for projected changes in 
        consumer behavior resulting from price fluctuations known as the 
        ``substitution effect'';
Whereas the substitution effect occurs when consumers buy more goods and 
        services with prices that are rising slower than average and fewer goods 
        and services with prices that are rising faster than average;
Whereas studies indicate that typical Social Security beneficiaries spend a 
        significantly higher percentage of their budget than other consumers on 
        health care, health care prices have increased at higher than average 
        rates, and consumers, including seniors, may not be able to substitute 
        health care easily;
Whereas the current COLAs, based on the CPI-W, fail to reflect that Social 
        Security beneficiaries spend more of their income proportionally on 
        expenses such as health care as compared to a regular wage earner, and 
        therefore underestimate increases in the cost of living of Social 
        Security beneficiaries;
Whereas the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that using the Chained CPI 
        to calculate Social Security COLAs would reduce Social Security benefits 
        by 0.25 percent per year, resulting in a reduction in outlays of 
        $127,000,000,000 over the first decade;
Whereas reductions in Social Security benefits from using the Chained CPI to 
        calculate Social Security COLAs would continue to compound over time, 
        and the AARP Public Policy Institute estimates that the reductions would 
        grow to 3 percent after 10 years and 8.5 percent after 30 years;
Whereas Social Security Works estimates that using the Chained CPI to calculate 
        Social Security COLAs would reduce annual Social Security benefits of 
        the average earner by $658 at age 75, $1,147 at age 85, and $1,622 at 
        age 95;
Whereas reductions in Social Security benefits would harm some of the most 
        vulnerable populations in the United States;
Whereas adopting the Chained CPI would cause tax brackets and the standard 
        deduction to rise more slowly, disproportionately raising the tax burden 
        on low- and middle-income taxpayers;
Whereas the Department of Veterans Affairs provides more than 3,200,000 veterans 
        with disability compensation benefits as a result of injuries or 
        illnesses sustained during, or as a result of, military service;
Whereas Social Security Works estimates that using the Chained CPI to calculate 
        veterans disability COLAs would reduce benefits for 100-percent-disabled 
        veterans who started receiving benefits at age 30 by $1,425 at age 45, 
        $2,341 at age 55, and $3,231 at age 65; and
Whereas adopting the Chained CPI would also cut the benefits of more than 
        350,000 surviving spouses and children who have lost a loved one in 
        battle by cutting Dependency Indemnity Compensation benefits that 
        average less than $17,000 per year: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that the Chained Consumer Price Index 
should not be used--
            (1) to calculate cost of living adjustments for Social 
        Security benefits or benefits for disabled veterans and their 
        survivors; or
            (2) to increase the tax burden on low- and middle-income 
        taxpayers.
                                 <all>
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