(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – National AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler has released the following statement on Republican-led efforts to create a Fiscal Commission that would take aim at critical programs that Working People rely on, including Social Security and Medicare: 

The House Republican proposal for a Fiscal Commission is a terrible idea that would push older Americans into poverty, take away people’s health care and end up costing the government more. 

The Labor Movement stands united in our belief that slashing crucial programs like Medicare and Social Security - which millions of hard-working individuals rely on and have contributed to - will make people poorer, sicker, hungrier and even lose their homes.

It also would put the pay and benefits for Federal Workers on the chopping block.  

This commission is a power grab that is trying to bypass the regular Democratic process by hiding behind closed doors and fast-tracking a plan that escapes public scrutiny and accountability, and rips away the security older people rely on and have paid for.

Working People support a revenue-centric approach that makes the ultra-rich and big corporations pay their fair share instead of a cruel commission that would send older adults into poverty and rip health care away from Americans. 

For More On This Labor News Report, Go To: Democrats, unions ramp up pressure against fiscal commission (msn.com)