White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry today said President Clinton's official budget submission to Congress in February will not contain any adjustments to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), regardless of the recommendations of the final report of a commission submitted to the Senate Finance Committee today. However, McCurry added the administration remains open to making changes in the CPI during negotiations with Congress over a balanced budget plan.
But at a Capitol Hill new conference to release that final report, which recommended reducing the CPI by 1.1 percentage points, Senate Finance Chairman Roth urged that "we should move promptly" to incorporate some recommendations into the FY97 budget process. "I would like to see movement this year, but that will depend on how fast we can develop the bipartisan consensus that is necessary," Roth said.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney issued a statement saying the CPI recommendations "are far from the last word on the subject and we should not fall prey to the temptation to see this as a settled issue" because some researchers feel the CPI understates cost of living increases.
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