John,

With rumors swirling that the House of Representatives is poised to advance a bill to create a closed-door, fast-tracked commission to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Democrats sent a strong message: Hell no.

Last night, Reps. John Larson and Jan Schakowsky released a letter¹ signed by more than half of the House Democratic caucus stating clearly that a vote for such a commission is a vote to cut Social Security:

The goal of these commissions would be to produce legislation that cuts benefits and calls for an up or down vote without hearings, and that is unamendable.

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These 116 Democrats organized themselves over the holidays, with many staffers on vacation with their families. That number likely understates the strength of the Democrats’ position―after all, the Biden White House accurately described to fiscal commissions as “death panels for Medicare and Social Security.”²

But with Republican Speaker Mike Johnson looking to shore up his support within his extremist caucus, and a government shutdown looming (again), Johnson could attempt to force the creation of a commission as the price of keeping the government open.

In fact, that’s exactly what Johnson’s Budget Chairman, Rep. Jodey Arrington, suggested they would do.³

The truth is, we don’t need a commission to tell Congress what to do for Social Security―the American people are extremely clear. They want to see Social Security EXPANDED, not cut.⁴

There is no shortage of bills to do just that, including Rep. Larson’s own Social Security 2100 Act.

The only reason to deal with Social Security and Medicare behind closed doors, outside regular order, is to force through an incredibly unpopular package of cuts and shield politicians from accountability.

We need our champions in Congress to stand strong. Social Security Works was instrumental in recruiting signers for this public letter. We need to keep pushing! Donate $7 today!

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Thank you,

Michael Phelan
Social Security Works

¹ https://larson.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/larson.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/pdfresizer.com-pdf-resize.pdf
² https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-06/white-house-slams-gop-entitlement-commission-as-death-panel
³ https://thehill.com/business/budget/4333694-gop-budget-chair-floats-attaching-debt-commission-to-government-funding-bills/
⁴ https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2023/6/dfp_ssw_mccarthy_commission.pdf