IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 34 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Chained Consumer Price 
Index should not be used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for 
Social Security benefits. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 18, 2013 
Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Mr. BARBER, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 
BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Ms. BROWN of Florida, 
Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, 
Ms. CHU, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DANNY K. 
DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. ELLI-
SON, Mr. ENYART, Ms. FRANKEL
of Florida, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. 
GARAMENDI, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, 
Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. HAHN, Ms. HANABUSA, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, 
Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JACKSON 
LEE, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, 
Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. LEE 
of California, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LYNCH, 
Mr. MAFFEI, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOV-
ERN, Mr. MICHAUD, Ms. MOORE, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. 
NOLAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PETERS of Michigan, Ms. PIN-
GREE of Maine, Mr. POCAN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. RUSH, 
Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, 
Mr. SIRES, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. 
TONKO, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. VELA, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. 
WATERS, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. SCOTT of Vir-
ginia) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Ways and Means 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Chained Con-
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•HCON 34 IH 
sumer Price Index should not be used to calculate cost- 
of-living adjustments for Social Security benefits. 
Whereas the Social Security program was established more 
than 77 years ago and has provided economic security to 
generations of Americans through benefits earned based 
on contributions made over a worker’s lifetime; 
Whereas the Social Security program continues to provide 
modest benefits—averaging approximately $14,000 per 
year—to more than 53,000,000 individuals, including 
37,000,000 retired workers in February 2013; 
Whereas the Social Security program has no borrowing au-
thority, 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 such 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-liv-
ing adjustments (COLAs) that are based upon the meas-
ured changes in prices of goods and services purchased 
by consumers, currently the Consumer Price Index for 
Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI–W) 
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; 
Whereas the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a supple-
mental 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’’, which occurs when consumers buy 
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•HCON 34 IH 
more goods and services whose prices are rising slower 
than average and less of those rising faster than average; 
Whereas studies indicate typical Social Security beneficiaries 
spend significantly greater shares of their budget than 
consumers generally on health care, prices for which have 
increased at higher than average rates, and health care 
may not be easily substituted for by consumers such as 
seniors; 
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 as compared to current policy, resulting 
in a reduction in outlays of $112,000,000,000 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 such 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—who is making $43,518—by $658 at age 75, 
$1,147 at age 85, and $1,622 at age 95; and 
Whereas reductions in Social Security benefits would harm 
some of our most vulnerable populations: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the 
Chained Consumer Price Index should not be used to cal-
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•HCON 34 IH 
culate cost of living adjustments for Social Security bene-
fits. 
Æ 
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