(Washington, DC) - Montana's Senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus today strongly opposed recommendations to raise the retirement age for Social Security and cut funding for veterans, agriculture and natural resources released by the co-chairs of the Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.  Baucus, who was appointed to serve as a congressional representative on the commission in February, called the reforms anti-rural and said he will oppose them when the Commission votes this Friday.  

"I want to thank the Commission Co-Chairs, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson for their service to our country.  Reducing the debt is not an easy task, and I have the utmost respect and appreciation for the time, care and effort they have put into this task. 

 "Our mounting federal debt is a serious concern that we must address.  I am committed to finding real solutions.  That's why I have led the charge to end wasteful subsidies to insurance companies and crack down on loopholes in our tax code that allow big corporations to hide money offshore.  And at the same time, I'm fighting to help small businesses with tax cuts to grow our economy and hire new workers.  But the Deficit Commission recommendations paint a big red target on rural America, and I won't support anything that puts the debt burden on the backs of Montanans and other rural states, while others get a free pass. 

"The Deficit Commission recommendations would cut pensions for military members, lower Social Security payments, raise the retirement age and limit Medicare benefits.  Cuts like that hit rural America the hardest because we proudly have more veterans and seniors than most other states.

 "The Deficit Commission recommendations would raise taxes on gas by 15 cents a gallon, which would hurt folks in rural states like Montana where we often have to travel long distances in the course of one day.  The recommendations would cut $10 billion from farm programs Montana depends on and raise electricity rates in rural areas.  And they would redirect Montana coal tax dollars used for cleanup on abandoned mine land to states like Pennsylvania and West Virginia. 

 "At the same time, the Commission recommendations do not take any aggressive steps to crack down on corporations that hide their money overseas to avoid paying their taxes.

 "I have studied the Deficit Commission recommendations at length -  and I can tell you they are wrong for Montana and wrong for rural communities across the country.  Reducing our federal deficit is imperative, but we cannot cut the deficit at the expense of veterans, seniors, ranchers, farmers and hard-working families.  Instead, we need to look for common-sense ways to help businesses create jobs and grow our economy.  These recommendations are wrong for our state, they are wrong for our country, and I simply can't support them," Baucus said.

Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson released initial recommendations November 10, 2010, and the final revised recommendations yesterday December 1, 2010.  The recommendations released today include cuts to a number of programs that are important to Montanans.

Cuts to Seniors

• The recommendations would turn Medicare into a voucher program, which would limit the cost of care seniors are allowed to receive to a predetermined amount instead of covering all medical needs the way it does today.

• The recommendations would raise the age of normal retirementin the Social Security programto68 in 2040 andto 69 in 2075, which would result in benefit cuts for all new retirees. The recommendationswould also raise the early retirement age to 63 in 2040 and 64 in 2075. These twosets of changes hurt folks who have poor health or work in physically demanding jobs like farming, ranching and construction

• The recommendations would reduce Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) in Social Security and other Federal programs, which help folks living on fixed incomes keep up with the cost of inflation. In addition to Social Security,the programs withCOLA cuts would also include Military retirement, Civil Service retirement, veterans' benefits,SupplementalSecurityIncome and Railroad Retirement benefits.

Cuts to Troops and Veterans

• The recommendations would create a federal workforce entitlement task force to cut billions of dollars from military health and retirement programs.

• The recommendations would cut the government workforce by 10 percent without providing a firewall to protect the workforce of the Veterans Administration when implementing these cuts. Montana has the second highest rate of veterans per capita in the country. Thousands of young Montana veterans are returning home and depending on these staff to provide medical care and job services at VA run hospitals and Vet Centers.

Cuts to Agriculture

• The Commission Report would cut a net $10 billion between 2012 and 2020 from commodity farm programs like direct payments and conservation programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Cuts to Natural Resources

• The recommendations would end Abandoned Mine Land payments to certified states like Montana. This would mean that while coal produced in Montana would still be subject to a tax, none of that revenue would go to clean up mines in Montana. Instead, it would all go to mine cleanup in states like Virginia and Pennsylvania.

• The recommendations would restructure Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs), drastically raising electricity rates. Under current law, PMAs like the Bonneville Power Administration, from which western Montana co-ops get their power, have to sell the electricity they produce from hydro dams at cost. The Commission proposes requiring PMAs to sell all their electricity at market price, which would immediately raise electricity rates for thousands of homeowners across western Montana.

The Commission is scheduled to vote on these recommendations Friday.  The recommendations require the votes of 14 of the Commission's 18 members to go before Congress for consideration.  Baucus, a member of the Commission, will vote against them. 

Contact: Kate Downen (406) 224-5056/Jennifer Donohue (202) 224-2651 (Baucus)

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