[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 432 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 432

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should reject Social 
  Security privatization proposals, including those that require deep 
 cuts in Social Security benefits, such as the proposals of President 
                   Bush's Social Security Commission.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2004

  Mr. Corzine (for himself, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Daschle) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                               on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should reject Social 
  Security privatization proposals, including those that require deep 
 cuts in Social Security benefits, such as the proposals of President 
                   Bush's Social Security Commission.

Whereas Social Security is based on a promise to the American people: if you 
        work hard and contribute to Social Security, you will be able to retire 
        and live in dignity;
Whereas Social Security is the primary source of income for two-thirds of 
        American seniors;
Whereas Social Security benefits for retired workers average only about $900 per 
        month;
Whereas $900 per month is insufficient to maintain a decent standard of living 
        in many parts of the United States, especially for seniors with 
        relatively high health care costs;
Whereas in 2001, President George W. Bush created the President's Commission to 
        Strengthen Social Security (referred to in this resolution as the ``Bush 
        Social Security Commission''), naming as Commission members only those 
        who advocated Social Security privatization, and mandating that the 
        proposals put forward by the Commission include privatization of Social 
        Security;
Whereas the Bush Social Security Commission produced Social Security 
        privatization proposals that required deep cuts in Social Security 
        benefits;
Whereas the Bush Social Security Commission's proposed changes could reduce 
        Social Security benefits to future retirees by as much as 46 percent;
Whereas under the Bush Social Security Commission's proposal, the cuts in Social 
        Security benefits would apply to all seniors, not just those seniors who 
        choose to participate in privatized accounts;
Whereas the cuts in Social Security benefits could be even deeper if individuals 
        do shift funds to privatized accounts;
Whereas privatization advocates attempt to justify cuts in Social Security 
        benefits by pointing to future projected shortfalls in the Social 
        Security trust fund, but diversion of payroll tax revenues from the 
        trust fund into privatized accounts would substantially accelerate the 
        date by which the Social Security trust fund becomes insolvent;
Whereas in order to avoid accelerating the insolvency of the Social Security 
        trust fund, the Bush Social Security Commission was forced to propose 
        that the Federal Government incur as much as $4,700,000,000,000 in 
        Federal debt (in today's dollars) by 2041;
Whereas in response to the Bush Social Security Commission's report, 50 members 
        of the Senate wrote to President Bush, urging him to reject the 
        Commission's proposed cuts in Social Security benefits;
Whereas the President has not complied with the request of the Senators and 
        instead has reiterated his intention to move toward the privatization of 
        Social Security; and
Whereas the deep cuts in Social Security benefits proposed by the Bush Social 
        Security Commission could jeopardize the financial security of millions 
        of Americans: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that Congress should 
reject Social Security privatization proposals, including those that 
require deep cuts in Social Security benefits, such as the proposals of 
President Bush's Social Security Commission.
                                 <all>