Larson and Labor Leaders Oppose Republican Commission to Slash Earned Benefits
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) was joined by labor leaders at the U.S. Capitol to oppose the Fiscal Commission Act, Republican legislation recently advanced out of the House Budget Committee that would create a commission with the power to fast-track cuts to Medicare, Social Security, and the federal workforce behind closed doors.
You can view the press conference here.
“I am glad to be joined by our nation’s labor leaders to express how dangerous this commission is for our working families who have earned their benefits with every paycheck during their years of hard work,” said Larson. “Republicans want to form a fast-track commission that would cut benefits for more than 67 million Americans who rely on Social Security behind closed doors. I stand against these attacks on earned benefits and will continue to oppose any and all attempts to slash Social Security. At a time when 10,000 baby boomers a day are becoming eligible for their monthly payments, we should be acting to enhance benefits, not cut them.”
More than 100 organizations have come out against this proposal because of the threat it poses to the programs working Americans rely on.
The AFL-CIO, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association (NEA), Alliance for Retired Americans, Communications Workers of America (CWA), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), United Steelworkers, National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) joined Rep. Larson to oppose the Commission.
The House Republican proposal for a fiscal commission is a terrible idea that would push older Americans into poverty, take away people’s health care and end up costing the government more,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “The labor movement stands united in our belief that slashing crucial programs like Medicare and Social Security—which millions of hardworking individuals rely on and have contributed to—will make people poorer, sicker, hungrier and even lose their homes; it also would put the pay and benefits for federal workers on the chopping block. This commission is a power grab that is trying to bypass the regular democratic process by hiding behind closed doors and fast-tracking a plan that escapes public scrutiny and accountability and rips away the security older people rely on and have paid for. Working people support a revenue-centric approach that makes the ultra-rich and big corporations pay their fair share instead of a cruel commission that would send older adults into poverty and rip health care away from Americans.”
“Any attempt to push cuts to social security through an unelected, unaccountable body is an attack on not just hundreds of thousands of Teamster retirees but working families throughout our country. There’s more than enough wealth in this country to balance the budget without attacking the people who create wealth in the first place,” said Sean O’Brien, General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
“Social Security and Medicare are the bedrock federal programs that allow working families to retire with dignity,” said Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers. “They are promises we have made to our seniors and the govt upholds as part of our country’s social contract. The right wing’s obsession with cutting these programs behind closed doors, such as the latest fiscal commission scheme, must be exposed and rejected. MAGA Republicans are using this fiscal commission to make unfounded claims about the benefits of these programs. They are also not being truthful with voters about their plan. Cutting Social Security and Medicare via a fast-track commission is the antithesis of good, representative government, and flies in the face of any work to build a more just, sustainable, and fair economy that rewards work, not wealth. Rather than tearing these programs down, Congress should be strengthening and securing them.”
“Our members know quite well what a fiscal commission means, because we have lived through quite a few of them like Simpson-Bowles and even Base Realignment and Closure,” said Everett Kelley, National President of the American Federation of Government Employees. “This new commission plan means federal pay freezes – a commission means retirement cuts – a commission means sequestration - and yes, a commission means devastating cuts to Social Security and Medicare, that John Larson has spent his career defending. These are the bedrock programs our middle-class members rely on – that they’ve dutifully paid into every two weeks for their entire working lives. The proposed commission breaks our nation’s promise to these patriots who serve the American people.”
“On behalf of 600,000 IAM members, we wholeheartedly reject any effort by Congress to gut the hard-earned retirements or healthcare benefits of millions of working Americans. We have seen this story before – a ‘fiscal commission’ making decisions in back rooms with no input from real working families teams up to tell the rest of us that they’re going to steal our Social Security and Medicare earned benefits,” said Brian Bryant, International President, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). “We don’t need another commission, and especially not a ‘fast track’ process. Let’s instead work to pass legislation that would expand Social Security, and keep it solvent, for generations to come.”
“If the commission’s proponents were serious about the national debt and the solvency of Social Security and Medicare, they could ensure that measures to increase revenue are considered," said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance for Retired Americans.
“These sorts of fiscal commissions are far too often a thinly veiled front for Republicans to justify spending cuts without any serious discussion of raising revenue,” said United Steelworkers (USW) International President David McCall. “Instead of advocating for cuts to working families’ hard-earned benefits like Social Security and Medicare, Congress should spend more time discussing ways to ensure the rich pay their fair share, including eliminating the cap on Social Security taxes. Our union is eager to see serious discussions about how to bring our revenue more in line with spending, but the creation of this commission is a step in the wrong direction.”
“Historically, the budget cuts from fiscal commission have come at the expense of the earned benefits of hard working, dedicated postal employees. They are not the source of the federal deficit and should not be the solution,” stated National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) National President Paul Hogrogian. “The NPMHU is grateful for Congressman Larson and his work for protecting middle class Americans.”
“NTEU stands in solidarity with Rep. Larson and other labor groups who believe Congress should not attempt - once again – to empower an outside commission to target essential federal programs for long-term spending cuts,” said National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Doreen Greenwald. “We cannot allow a select group of individuals to develop, without real public input, recommendations to cut Social Security, Medicare and other federal programs, including federal employee pay and benefits, and then subject them to an up or down vote without hearings or amendments. Previous commissions have either failed altogether or recommended cutting the hard-earned benefits of middle class and federal workers. We cannot let this happen again.”
“Social Security helps but I am barely scraping by to make my house payment, car payment along with other necessities. I also have a son with special needs who I help support,” said AFSCME Iowa retiree Mary Cannon-James. “Instead of considering bills like the Fiscal Commission Act that could jeopardize the programs I rely on, Congress should focus on identifying ways to strengthen and protect Medicare and Social Security. These programs are not just numbers on a budget; they are vital for my well-being and that of countless other retirees.”
"Past fiscal commissions have been an undemocratic failure. They have focused their attention on slashing Social Security, Medicare and other vital programs that working Americans rely on rather than making sure that the super-wealthy pay their fair share,” said Dan Mauer, Director of Government Affairs, Communications Workers of America (CWA). “If Congress was genuinely concerned about lowering the deficit, there are common sense proposals, such as raising or eliminating the Social Security cap on taxable wages or ending some of the most egregious tax provisions from the TCJA, that they can and should pass now, in the light of day. Congress has a responsibility to protect hard-working Americans' earned benefits, not cut them behind closed doors."