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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

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Keep Social Security Out of Debt Ceiling Talks

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Thursday, July 14, 2011   

WASHINGTON - Representatives from Colorado AARP were in the nation's capital on Wednesday, calling on lawmakers not to balance the budget and cut federal debt on the backs of Colorado seniors.

The meetings were part of a larger awareness campaign by AARP, arguing that so-called "entitlement" programs such as Social Security and Medicare actually are programs into which retirees have paid and so should be off the table in any negotiations about the debt ceiling.

Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., doesn't entirely agree with this position. He's a supporter of the Bowles-Simpson recommendations, which call for both entitlement and tax reforms. However, Udall says he's frustrated with the current debt-ceiling stalemate in Washington.

"The clock is running. The sand is pouring out of the hourglass on whether to raise the debt ceiling and how to address our long-term debt, and these are issues on which we really can't afford to play chicken."

AARP notes that current proposals, including limits to cost-of-living increases for Social Security, will effectively cut benefits for seniors - especially the one-fourth of recipients in Colorado who rely solely on Social Security in their retirement. Instead, they're calling on Congress to cut down on wasteful spending and close tax loopholes.

Kathy Bacino knows firsthand how Medicaid and Medicare can offer a safety net in case of illness. Bacino, secretary of Colorado Public Employee Retiree Chapter 76, AFSCME, helped care for five terminally ill family members who eventually moved into nursing home care. That included her uncle, a proud Colorado rancher who thought he could always take care of himself. She says the programs offer crucial support for both those in need and their families.

"I can't even imagine what is going to happen if the funding is cut more. It just seems unconscionable."

Morie Smile, director of AARP Colorado, says they have a simple message for lawmakers.

"Medicare and Social Security cuts do not belong in conversations about the debt ceiling. Period."

A recent poll by the organization Strengthen Social Security found 71 percent of Colorado voters are opposed to cutting Social Security benefits in order to balance the budget - including more than half of Colorado Tea Party respondents. The poll results are online at ncpssmfoundation.org.


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