Social Security Works

The Honorable Erskine Bowles
The Honorable Alan Simpson
Co-Chairs, National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. Bowles and Senator Simpson:

President Obama and many others have advocated both government in the sunshine and the participatory engagement of those affected by government decisions. They recognize that conducting work in these ways promotes accountability and improves the quality of decisions. We share those values. Accordingly, as advocates for the American people — working families, seniors, women, people with disabilities, children, people of color, veterans, young adults, those in poverty, and communities of faith – we urge that:

• All Commission meetings and, if you have them, subcommittee meetings be open and accessible to the public, that C-Span be invited to televise them, and that the proceedings be streamed live over the Internet.

• The Commission show the distributional impact of its proposals on different subgroups of Americans (including, for example, by income, race/ethnicity, gender, region, those with and without disability, age) and also the impact on investments in such essential assets as jobs, education, energy, and infrastructure.

• The Commission confer with experts reflecting the full range of views on the issues before it.

• The Commission hold hearings not simply to educate the public, as you have stated as a goal, but also to listen and learn from the public directly affected by changes you may propose.

We note that Members of Congress who span the political spectrum have made requests similar to those in this letter. Like those members, we believe that these actions will best serve the American people.

Sincerely,

AARP
American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations  (AFL-CIO)
Alliance for Retired Americans
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
American Federation of Government Employees
American Federation of State, County  and Municipal Employees
American Network of Community  Options and Resources
APSE (formerly, Association for Persons in Supported Employment)
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Blinded Veterans Association
B’nai B’rith International
Brave New Foundation
Business & Professional Women of  Florida
Business and Professional Women’s Foundation
California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA)
Campaign for America’s Future
Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc
Change to Win
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
Common Cause
Communications Workers of America
DC Fights Back
Dēmos
Disability Rights Education and DefenseFund
Disabled American Veterans
Economic Policy Institute
Family Voices
Feminist Majority
Feminist Majority Foundation
Food Research and Action Center
Frances Perkins Center
Generations United
Global Policy Solutions
Independent Living Resource Center
Indiana Office of the Long Term Care Ombudsman
Insight Center for Community Economic Development’s Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative
Inter-National Association of Business, Industry and Rehabilitation
Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR)
Mental Health America
Mildred and Claude Pepper Foundation
Military Officers Association of America
NAACP
National Association for Hispanic Elderly
National Association of Disability Representatives
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
National Council of La Raza
National Council of Women’s Organizations
National Council on Aging
National Council on Independent Living
National Disability Rights Network
National Hispanic Council on Aging
National Gay and Lesbian Task  Force
National Organization for Women
National Organization of Mothers’ Centers
National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives
National Senior Citizens Law Center
National Treasury Employees Union
National Women’s Law Center
NISH-Creating Employment Opportunities for People with Severe Disabilities
Older Women’s League of California
OMB Watch
OWL-National Older Women’s League
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Pension Rights Center
People For the American Way
Public Justice Center
Roosevelt Institute Campus Network
Social Security Works
Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees
TASH Equity, Opportunity and Inclusion for People with Disabilities since 1975
The Arc of the United States
The Century Foundation
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
United Cerebral Palsy
United Steelworkers (USW)
Veteran Feminists of America
VetsFirst
Vietnam Veterans of America
Voices for America’s Children
Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND)
Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW)