King City, CA: Budget Stalemate Good For Social Security? View From A Private Duty
King City, CA: Budget Stalemate Good For Social Security? View From A Private Duty Caregiver Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Gilroy, Gonzalez, Greenfield, Hollister, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Sand City, San Juan Bautista, Seaside And Soledad California
The so-called congressional super-committee which is charged with cutting at least $1.2 billion from our deficit over the next decade is, not surprisingly, making very little progress. Further complicating the efforts of the bipartisan committee is that 100 current and former aides to the 12 sitting on the panel are lobbying on behalf of hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, other health care providers and defense contractors, each with their own agenda. "The reason that special interests hire former aides is the perception that they have access," said Bill Allison of the non-partisan Sunlight Foundation, which has called for greater transparency into the workings of the super-committee. Although lobbying Congress is nothing new, the sheer number of those that have been hired show just how important and how contentious this budget cutting process is likely to be. About 60% of current and former federal lobbyists who have worked for panel members have now been hired to lobby for various causes. "It's not clear who's advocating for the citizens," said Allison. That may start to change. Fearful of cuts which could be made to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid/Medi-Cal regular American citizens are getting involved in lobbying efforts. USA Today profiled Sam Burnett, a 79 year-old retired school administrator from Toledo, Ohio who plans to drive 200 miles next week to meet with House Speaker John Boehner (Republican, Ohio) and Senator Rob Portman (Republican, Ohio) to present his views personally. "I just want to re-emphasize the important of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in the lives of our seniors," he told USA Today. It's important for people like Burnett to do this because so much is at stake. "In my 40 years in Washington, no single group of members of Congress has ever been given so much responsibility to propose so many changes in the funding of the federal government," Howard Marlowe, president of the American League of Lobbyists told USA Today. The clock is ticking. The panel needs to make its recommendations to Congress by November 23 in order to avoid across the board cuts which will hit many budget areas hard, although Social Security would be exempt from the automatic cuts. The deepest cuts would come to defense, which is likely to lobby hard. Some seniors are thinking a stalemate would be the best solution, with automatic budget cuts kicking in that don't impact Social Security. "We're not lobbying for a stalemate, but it may turn out to be better than what they might produce," Max Richtman, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare which is running a $2.6 million advertising and direct-mail campaign to fight the cuts. I urge you to contact your Congressperson and make sure that your voice is heard. There is so much at stake with this committee, and with the elections coming up next year, politicians are more willing to listen than they probably will be after the elections take place.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-10-09/supercommittee-deficit-panel-has-many-ties-to-lobbyists/50713626/1
http://www.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2011-10-10-Lobbyist_ST_U.htm
The so-called congressional super-committee which is charged with cutting at least $1.2 billion from our deficit over the next decade is, not surprisingly, making very little progress. Further complicating the efforts of the bipartisan committee is that 100 current and former aides to the 12 sitting on the panel are lobbying on behalf of hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, other health care providers and defense contractors, each with their own agenda. "The reason that special interests hire former aides is the perception that they have access," said Bill Allison of the non-partisan Sunlight Foundation, which has called for greater transparency into the workings of the super-committee. Although lobbying Congress is nothing new, the sheer number of those that have been hired show just how important and how contentious this budget cutting process is likely to be. About 60% of current and former federal lobbyists who have worked for panel members have now been hired to lobby for various causes. "It's not clear who's advocating for the citizens," said Allison. That may start to change. Fearful of cuts which could be made to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid/Medi-Cal regular American citizens are getting involved in lobbying efforts. USA Today profiled Sam Burnett, a 79 year-old retired school administrator from Toledo, Ohio who plans to drive 200 miles next week to meet with House Speaker John Boehner (Republican, Ohio) and Senator Rob Portman (Republican, Ohio) to present his views personally. "I just want to re-emphasize the important of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in the lives of our seniors," he told USA Today. It's important for people like Burnett to do this because so much is at stake. "In my 40 years in Washington, no single group of members of Congress has ever been given so much responsibility to propose so many changes in the funding of the federal government," Howard Marlowe, president of the American League of Lobbyists told USA Today. The clock is ticking. The panel needs to make its recommendations to Congress by November 23 in order to avoid across the board cuts which will hit many budget areas hard, although Social Security would be exempt from the automatic cuts. The deepest cuts would come to defense, which is likely to lobby hard. Some seniors are thinking a stalemate would be the best solution, with automatic budget cuts kicking in that don't impact Social Security. "We're not lobbying for a stalemate, but it may turn out to be better than what they might produce," Max Richtman, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare which is running a $2.6 million advertising and direct-mail campaign to fight the cuts. I urge you to contact your Congressperson and make sure that your voice is heard. There is so much at stake with this committee, and with the elections coming up next year, politicians are more willing to listen than they probably will be after the elections take place.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-10-09/supercommittee-deficit-panel-has-many-ties-to-lobbyists/50713626/1
http://www.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2011-10-10-Lobbyist_ST_U.htm
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