While the US Senate is debating health care reform, and including a possible expansion of Medicare eligibility in the process, a separate effort is underway that could lead to significant cuts in both Social Security and Medicare benefits. As progressives across America mobilize to stop this effort, Senator Dianne Feinstein is in the middle of the battle. That's why the Courage Campaign and CREDO Action have joined forces to petition Senator Feinstein to stop this commission.

Here's what's happening: US Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, has been pushing for the creation of a "deficit reduction commission" that would have the power to propose cuts in "entitlement" spending. The commission's recommendations would then go to the Congress for an up or down vote on the entire package, without the ability to amend its proposals. Because it could lead to cuts in benefits for Social Security and Medicare, many progressives are calling this a "cat food" commission. And Senator Dianne Feinstein is on record as a supporter of this commission.

The Courage Campaign first learned about this from an article in The Hill last month:

Seven members of the Senate Budget Committee threatened during a Tuesday hearing to withhold their support for critical legislation to raise the debt ceiling if the bill calling for the creation of a bipartisan fiscal reform commission were not attached. Six others had previously made such threats, bringing the total to 13 senators drawing a hard line on the committee legislation.

“You rarely do have the leverage to make a fundamental change,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who said he hasn’t ruled out offering the independent commission legislation as an amendment to the healthcare reform bill.

The panel, which has been championed by Conrad and ranking member Judd Gregg (R-N.H), would be tasked with stemming the unsustainable rise in debt.

Among its chief responsibilities would be closing the gap between tax revenue coming in and the larger cost of paying for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. The Government Accountability Office recently reported the gap is on pace to reach an “unsustainable” $63 trillion in 2083.

The panel would also have the power to craft legislation that would change the tax code and set limits on government spending.

The legislation would then be subject to an up-or-down vote; it could not be amended....

But before Tuesday’s hearing was over, Sens. Conrad, Gregg, Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) publicly vowed to vote against raising the debt ceiling if a budget reform commission bill doesn’t come along with it.

The modus operandi of these Senators appears to be to demand that this commission be part of important bills or else they'll vote against that bill. Since the Congress hasn't yet voted to raise the debt ceiling, that threat is presumably still on the table. Kent Conrad is making that threat of the proposal to use TARP funds to create jobs - threatening to oppose that effort unless Congress agrees to add this commission to the bill. We have read reports that Senator Feinstein has her own proposal, but none appears on THOMAS, the official record of the US Congress.

Progressives are already organizing to stop this. Last weekend Over 30 progressive groups signed a letter saying "no" to this commission. The groups include the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU, People for the American Way, the NAACP, Common Cause, and other leading organizations:

We write in strong opposition to proposals to create an entitlements or deficit-reduction commission that would override the normal legislative process and replace it with expedited procedures prohibiting amendments and limiting debate.

Those supporting this circumvention of the normal process have stated openly the desire to avoid political accountability. Americans-seniors, women, working families, people with disabilities, young adults, children, people of color, veterans, communities of faith and others-expect their elected representatives to be responsible and accountable for shaping such significant, far-reaching legislation.

Any deficit reduction measures should be carried out in a responsible manner, providing a fairer tax system and strengthening-rather than slashing-Social Security, Medicare and other programs that are vital to the middle class." And as unemployment continues to grow, we need a real debate about how to balance the need for economic recovery and productive public investment with the goal of long-term budget responsibility. The American people are likely to view any kind of expedited procedure, where most members are sidelined to a single take-it-or-leave-it vote, as a hidden process aimed at eviscerating vital programs and productive investment.

As you know, the current effort to reform the health care sector seeks to achieve reductions in Medicare spending, without cutting benefits. But the proposed budget commission-which will be viewed as a way to actually cut Medicare benefits, while insulating lawmakers from political fallout-could confuse people and undermine the reform effort. And an American public that only recently rejected privatization of Social Security will undoubtedly be suspicious of a process that shuts them out of all decisions regarding the future of a retirement system that's served them well in the current financial crisis.

We urge you to act decisively to prevent the creation of such an extraordinary and undemocratic budget commission. (Click here to see the full letter and the list of signers.)

As we remember from the 2005 battle over Social Security privatization, there is no crisis in Social Security. The earliest the existing trust fund would have difficulty paying 100% of benefits is 2041. Even then, projections of shortfalls are assuming that the currently reduced levels of income resulting from the recession are ongoing. We have over 30 years to either grow the economy and fully fund our obligations without doing anything, or 30 years to find a fair way to find new revenues to fund these obligations. We certainly do not need an undemocratic commission that could grease the skids for benefit cuts. If the US Senate wants to address Social Security, they can and should do so through the normal legislative process.

There are genuine concerns about Medicare spending. But the rising cost of Medicare, which could produce a fiscal crisis by 2017, isn't due to overly generous benefits. Medicare's rising costs are a reflection of rising health care costs across the country, regardless of the provider or payer. In fact, our existing system of private insurance actually exacerbates Medicare's problems, since insurers prefer to deny treatment for chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, preferring to wait until the patient turns 65 and it becomes Medicare's responsibility to pay for that expensive treatment.

It is entirely possible that the current health care reform effort will address Medicare's rising costs and further make this commission unnecessary. The health care reform bill being debated right now in the US Senate contains a number of important cost control mechanisms that, along with a public option, should provide better and more affordable care to Americans, reducing the ability of insurance companies to dump these costs onto Medicare. And again, should these efforts fail, we have time to debate solutions sensibly and rationally, without rushing to create an undemocratic commission.

(Note: This commission is not the same thing as a recent vote, backed by the AARP, regarding Medicare benefits that took place last week. That vote was part of the overall health care reform effort in the Senate. This commission, however, is an entirely separate proposal.)

By her support of this commission, Senator Feinstein is showing that she is willing to consider cuts to Social Security and Medicare that are neither necessary nor acceptable. That's why the Courage Campaign and CREDO Action have organized a petition to Senator Feinstein asking her to withdraw her support for this commission.

As one of her constituents, I would like to think that Senator Feinstein would want to protect and even boost Social Security and Medicare benefits, and not support a process that could lead to cuts in both programs. If she wants to address ways to improve Social Security and Medicare, she should do so directly, without having an undemocratic commission do the work for her. If she wants to talk about the budget deficit, again, she should do so openly and directly through the normal legislative channels, instead of asking a commission to tackle the matter.

The Courage Campaign and CREDO Action reiterate our call for Senator Feinstein to drop her support of this commission, and ask that you sign our petition to that effect. If Senator Feinstein really doesn't want to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits, then she should have no problem withdrawing her support of this commission, and using the normal legislative process to shore up and improve those programs.

Below is the text of the email we sent to our members on this topic.

Dear friend,

It's time for Feinstein to get her priorities straight.

We're in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Now is not the time for cuts.

You can bet Dianne Feinstein will never have to eat cat food. But that may not be true for seniors, low income people and other at-risk folks if she gets her way.

There's a powerful movement in Washington, D.C. demanding big cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Thursday that those "entitlement" programs should be slashed to bring the budget under control, instead of raising taxes on the wealthy who have benefited from his bailouts.

Now, in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Senator Dianne Feinstein is preparing to help Bernanke achieve his goal.

Senator Feinstein is trying to ram through far-reaching legislation that would lead to major cuts to Social Security and Medicare -- before there can be any debate or the public even knows what is going on.

The Senate should be working to expand health care programs and aid to those suffering from the recession, instead of pulling the rug out from under them. We've saved Social Security once before in 2005. Now we need to step up and save it, and Medicare, from Dianne Feinstein.

That's why the Courage Campaign is teaming up with CREDO Action to stop Senator Feinstein before it's too late. Will you join us in demanding that Sen. Feinstein stop trying to undermine Social Security and Medicare and start expanding health care? Please sign our joint action now:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/StopSenatorFeinstein

It gets worse. Sen. Feinstein is holding the economy hostage to force Congress to cave in before the American public has a chance to find out what's going on.

Sen. Feinstein has joined with Republicans and conservative Democrats to demand Congress cede special legislative power to an unelected commission convened to slash government spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The commission would be able to offer legislation in both chambers of Congress that could not be filibustered or amended and that would pass on simple majority vote.

To ensure this comes to a vote, Sen. Feinstein is threatening to create a new financial panic. Because the U.S. government has already hit its debt ceiling, Congress must pass a law to raise it or else the government will default on its debt, causing economic havoc.

The threat? Sen. Feinstein has publicly declared that she will not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless other Democrats agree to create what some are calling the "cat food commission" -- a backdoor attempt to make critical cuts to Social Security and Medicare that will endanger the lives of our nation's senior citizens.

Please join the Courage Campaign and CREDO Action today and tell Sen. Feinstein that she needs to get her priorities straight -- and place the needs of senior citizens over devastating cuts to the the programs that safeguard their health and well-being:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/StopSenatorFeinstein

Your pressure on Sen. Feinstein this summer, along with Courage and CREDO, helped force her to support the public option. Now you can help save Social Security and Medicare by applying that pressure again.

Thank you for helping us push for progressive change in California and across the country.

Robert Cruickshank
Public Policy Director, Courage Campaign