Date: 2005-04-13
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. another day in the Fifth Congressional District means that again my seniors received calls trying to frighten them about Social Security. This is the sixth set of calls that have gone into my district. The majority of the responses I receive is stop. stop. stop those calls. We trust you. we know you will do what is right. As the American public knows. the longterm future of Social Security is problematic at best. We have all heard the facts that in the year 2017 the Social Security trust fund will begin paying out more than what it takes in and that if Congress does nothing. the program will face at least a 25 percent guaranteed cut in benefits in 2041. So if we do nothing. there will be future cuts. These are the facts. and they are indisputable. What I am here to share with Members this evening is about the dangerous double talk from the opponents of any kind of reform of Social Security. I would like to read someinteresting quotes from Washington politicians about Social Security. The first one is: "If you do not do anything. one of two things will happen: Either it will go broke and you wont ever get it. Or if we wait too long to fix it. the burden on society of taking care of our generations Social Security obligations will lower your income and lower your ability to take care of your children." Or how about the following: "This fiscal crisis in Social Security affects every generation." Or how about this gem of a quote: "This is the time to straighten Social Security for the future. We can and must accomplish this critical goal for the American people." Members may be asking themselves what right wing Member of Congress said that Social Security was in a crisis and which reformer said the program would go broke if we do nothing to fix the problem. Guess what. these are quotes from none other than former Democrat President Bill Clinton. Leaders of our country from both parties have known that Social Security needs reform. What bothers me today is when we finally have a President and a Congress that is brave -enough to grab what is often termed the third rail of politics. partisan obstructionists are unwilling to even come to the table and debate reform honestly and with some substance. I represent the congressional district with the most Social Security recipients. 47 percent of my voting age population receives Social Security. a quarter of a million people on Social Security. Politically the easiest thing for me to do is to throw up my hands and oppose reform. But instead of sticking my head in the sand like the Democrats are doing and refusing to admit we have a problem. even though their former President did. I am working to find a permanent solution. If Democrats. the AARP. and the unaccountable 527 groups would be honest with themselves and with the American public. they would acknowledge the truth of President Clintons statement that "this fiscal crisis in Social Security affects every generation." Instead. what do we hear? We hear scare tactics from the liberal left about Republican efforts to privatize the system. to force our parents to eat dog food. and take away the only future our seniors have. Mr. Speaker. the time has come for them to come to the table and do what President Clinton suggested. It is time to engage intellectually dishonest partisan politicians who refuse to debate the issue on its merits. How. the American public should ask. can Congress expect to solve a substantive policy matter like Social Security when one side refuses to debate seriously. If the Democrats want to have any relevance in the lives of our seniors. it clearly is time for them to come to the table. The discussion should begin with the simple question: Does Social Security face a problem? I believe every American believes that Social Security does face a problem. "Legislators whose answer to that problem is no should probably go ahead and cosponsor a bipartisan bill to do nothing in the 109th Congress and go on to other issues." Who said that? Well. how about former Democrat Congressmen Tim Penny and Charlie Stenholm. Congressmen Penny and Stenholm know something needs to be done. Why will they not bring their former colleagues to the table. Let me tell a story about one of the town hall meetings I had in my district. Before I began a discussion with my constituents and listening to their suggestions. I held up a 10page packet of questions and talking points that were sent out by MoveOn.org. I told my constituents that I was there to listen to their genuine concerns and questions. not to hear canned questions from a bussed in MoveOn.org member or to read off their cheat sheet. What do you know. about 2 minutes into the question and answer period. I got question number 3 right off the MoveOn.org cheat sheet. This is a perfect example of the left wing partisans stacking events at town hall meetings that are intended to benefit our constituents. I am sure other Members experienced the same phenomenon. Getting back to the obstructionism of Washington politicians. here is another quote: "Because of the retirement of the baby boomers by the year 2013. the surpluses built up in Social Security start to dwindle down. and sometime around the year 2032. Social Security faces a serious crisis." Guess who said that? It was actually former Vice President Al Gore. So the American public clearly can see that Washington Democrats are very good about talking out of both sides of their mouth if it furthers their partisan goals. E 1900 Al Gore talked a good game. but where is he today when it comes to presenting a plan or encouraging his members to guarantee the solvency of Social Security for future generations? We have all read news accounts where President Clinton proposed that government directly invest a portion of Social Security money in the financial markets to capture a higher rate of return. rather than the dismal rate that it receives now. Where. the public has to ask. were the liberal opposition groups back then.? They supported a Democrat President who proposed this. but they oppose a Republican one. President Bush has proposed allowing workers to invest 4 percent of their payroll taxes into personal. safe and secure accounts. To many. this is a safer route than putting our Social Security taxes straight into the stock market like President Clinton wanted. Where is the AARP with a plan of their own? We met with them in our office. and. quite honestly. all they said was. no. no. no. They did not have a plan of their own. All I have seen from them so far is a statement that personal accounts are unacceptable to their leadership. But if you think about it. Social Security is already somewhat personalized. When you get- home. I challenge people to check their yearly statement from the Social Security Administration. Your future benefits are there calculated for you. not for the general public but for you. It already is somewhat personalized. Why do you not ask AARP why their leadership promotes stock and bond investing by selling mutual funds to its members or why they offer risky investment choices like a Latin American stock fund and even a junk bond fund? I personally find it very appalling the AARP sponsors trips to casinos where seniors literally gamble away their retirement. Why do we not change the subject slightly and talk about the unions that are opposed to any change? They also. said. no. sir. no way. to personal accounts. But when you ask union leaders where they invest their union pension funds. once again we hear double talk. They invest them. guess where. in the stock market. Why is it good enough for union leadership but not their members? I guess so much for risky schemes. The unions. AARP and others on the liberal left already have them. Tonight I hope that I have made clear that there is one side and one side only that is honestly engaged in the debate over the future of Social Security. All the other side has thus far is fear. fear. and another hearty helping of fear. Quit trying to scare our seniors. The 527s are the ones making the calls as well as the opposition party. I want to speak to any senior listening tonight and I want to make it perfectly clear. I will not change your Social Security benefits in any way. The President has clearly said those who are 55 and above will be under thetraditional plan as we know it. So I challenge the opposition to join us. and I challenge the people who may be watching this evening. help us save Social Security for your children and grandchildren. We have stepped up to the plate and made it clear that we are willing to work toward a permanent solution that benefits all Americans. Mr. Speaker. I hope that as we continue to debate this issue on the floor. back in our districts and around the kitchen table. we will all remember that it is our constituency we are working for and it is not partisan political groups.