Harold Sheppard, associate director of the National Council on the Aging, has a one-word description of benefits paid now and all increases that may be necessary to keep those payments abreast of inflation.

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Harris polls conducted for the National Council on the Aging last year found that 73% of those questioned generally opposed reductions in COLAS.Those responding to a March Gallup poll, however, voted narrowly in favor of lower COLAS as part of a general hold-down on federal spending, 48% to 44%.

CNN: A Debt-Threatened Dream

The National Council on Aging has a nice summary of these spending changes.

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