Dear Mr. MyRealLastName:

Thank you for contacting me regarding proposed changes to the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and state of affairs in Washington. I share your concerns and agree that seniors' benefits should keep pace with rising prices for goods like medicine and food.

Over the past few years, we have seen COLAs as high as 5.8 percent and, in some years, there has been no adjustment at all. The Social Security Administration increased the COLA by 1.7 percent for the current year and expects to announce next year’s COLA in the coming days.

Some have suggested replacing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) currently used to calculate the Social Security COLA with different measures of inflation. One such measure is the so-called chained CPI. Proponents of the chained CPI argue that it would be a more accurate measure of changes in the cost of living because it accounts for the substitution of less-expensive goods for goods that have increased in price. The chained CPI generally results in lower measured inflation compared to the current measure, which in turn would typically result in lower annual Social Security COLAs. The effects of these lower COLA compound over time and would result in a fairly significant benefit cut for all seniors. I am very concerned about the impact such a change could have on our seniors, especially the most vulnerable members of this population.

As a member of the Senate Budget Committee, I am committed to getting Federal spending under control. I have been selected to participate in the budget negotiations between the House and Senate over the coming months to develop a long-term budget that addresses our fiscal challenges and prevents another breakdown in governance as we saw with the shutdown. I am open to a range of new ideas that will reduce the debt but am also mindful that Social Security didn’t get us in the fiscal situation we are in today. Social Security does face long-term actuarial challenges, but it can be strengthened and maintained with sensible, bipartisan reforms.

I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue. I will continue to work to ensure that Social Security remains a meaningful source of retirement security for our seniors. Please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Sincerely,
Bill Nelson

In the future, while conducting future “admin-bashing” conversations with journalists, Hayden should look to more anonymous, out-of-the-way locations than the mid-week, mid-afternoon Acela train from Washington to New York—locations such as . . .

The Smith & Wollensky in northwest D.C.
Michael’s in New York
The Harvard Club
A Des Moines–Dulles flight during the Iowa caucuses
The Dean & DeLuca underneath The New York Times offices
The Condé Nast cafeteria
Off The Record, the bar at the Hay-Adams Hotel
The Four Seasons in New York
The green room at MSNBC studios
The German chancellor’s office (ka-pow!)