Dick Durbin: Social Security Should Be Off The Fiscal Cliff Table

WASHINGTON -- Social Security does not contribute to the federal deficit and should not be a part of ongoing negotiations to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Tuesday, in a speech billed as a "major address making the progressive case for a bipartisan fiscal cliff deal."

Durbin's line in the sand on Social Security reflects an increasingly aggressive effort by Democrats to block changes to the program.