Issue Position: Social Security

Issue Position

Social Security is one of the most successful social programs in the history of our nation -- providing security for millions of Americans for over seventy years. Recently, there have been proposals from the White House to radically transform Social Security from a guaranteed benefit into a private investment scheme. The President has been relentless in misleading the American people about Social Security's future with exaggerated rhetoric describing a "crisis" that does not exist to advance his agenda.

The facts are clear: Social Security is the most successful anti-poverty program in American history. Because of Social Security, currently 90 percent of seniors in the United States are living their retirement years above the poverty line. For 20 percent of all elderly Americans, 25 percent of non-married elderly women and 38 percent of elderly African Americans and Hispanics, Social Security's guaranteed benefit is their only source of income. Without this guaranteed benefit provided by Social Security, almost 50 percent of America's seniors would be living in poverty today.

An analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has concluded that Social Security will pay full benefits for the next 47 years, or until 2052 - even if Congress does nothing. Clearly, this is not the crisis the Bush Administration claims. By law, Social Security has a budget independent of the rest of the U.S. government, and it is currently running a surplus due to an increase in payroll taxes supported by President Ronald Reagan and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan nearly two decades ago. Because of their actions, the Social Security Trust Fund continues to grow to cover the cost of paying benefits to future beneficiaries.

President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security proposes to allow individuals to voluntarily divert payroll taxes into private accounts to be invested by Wall Street. There is no guarantee that those investments will result in additional retirement income. For millions of elderly Americans, this privatization scheme will be a gamble in which the stock market's fluctuations will dictate if one's "golden years" are lived with dignity and security or in poverty and destitution. This is not a gamble I am willing to take, and I will work to oppose all attempts to privatize Social Security.

We can secure the future of Social Security with common sense and a shared, bipartisan commitment to economic security and fiscal responsibility for all Americans.

This is my commitment, and you can count on me to work to protect Social Security and to find a solution that truly protects the retirement security of every American.

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