If adopted across the government, the change would have far-reaching effects because so many programs are adjusted each year based on year-to-year changes in consumer prices.

It would mean smaller annual increases in Social Security payments, government pensions and veterans' benefits. Taxes would slowly increase because annual adjustments to income tax brackets would be smaller, pushing more people into higher tax brackets. Over time, fewer people would be eligible for antipoverty programs like Medicaid, Head Start, food stamps, school lunches and home heating assistance because annual adjustments to the poverty level would be smaller, leaving fewer people under the poverty line.

House Republicans proposed the new inflation measure Monday as part of a 10-year, $2.2 trillion plan to avoid the year-end fiscal cliff, a combination of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that economists warn could send the economy back into recession. They also proposed raising the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67, and raising taxes by $800 billion.