III 

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 lowand 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 


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•SCON 15 IS 

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 


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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; 


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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 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the 

3 Chained Consumer Price Index should not be used— 

4 (1) to calculate cost of living adjustments for 

5 Social Security benefits or benefits for disabled vet6 erans and their survivors; or 

7 (2) to increase the tax burden on low- and mid8 dle-income taxpayers. 

Æ 


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