House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has made one thing clear, publicly and behind the scenes, in high-stakes debt discussions: Her caucus won’t support Social Security benefit cuts, and Republicans better listen closely, because they need Democratic votes to increase the borrowing limit.
But she may be powerless to stop one increasingly discussed plan to lower Social Security’s cost of living adjustment, which would escalate cuts to the program over time. Though in public, and more frequently through surrogates, she agitates against the change, it’s an idea that has bipartisan support — and so a likely candidate in any final debt deal.
At her weekly press conference Friday, Pelosi explained how a measure like this might pass muster — or might not.
“There’s concern in my caucus about what would happen with CPI, some think that it’s a benefit cut, others do not,” she admitted. “The dirty rotten devil’s in the dirty rotten details.”
She cited three technicalities that would impact the degree to which Democrats could support the plan: To soften the blow, the change could be phased in over time, and only better-off retirees. And, of course, the savings should be contained within the Social Security program itself.
“If it were to be something that would be put on the table, it would have to be something that would be put on the table — say if it’s to address Social Security — where the money went to Social Security,” she said. “This money would have to go to the Trust Fund.”
Other benefit cuts would face more clear cut opposition among Dems — and thus have a hard time surviving the debt limit fight. But this one’s still with us.
