[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 25 (Thursday, February 11, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H623]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PRESERVING SOCIAL SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to spend my time this afternoon 
talking about Social Security, one of America's great all-American 
programs. It is in a class by itself, except for Medicare, of course. 
But, like so many programs, its beneficiaries vary according to race, 
sex or class, even given the universality of this extremely popular 
program.
  When people say that they think it will not be there for them, they 
also say that they do not want it changed much because they want it to 
be there for them.
  There are proposals floating around for private accounts where people 
would invest in equities in the stock market themselves. In considering 
these proposals, I ask only that this body consider that women are 
hugely, disproportionately affected by whatever we decide to do to 
Social Security. Twice as many women who live past 65 are poor as men, 
and so, in its wisdom, the Congress has structured the Social Security 
program to reflect this basic reality.
  Proposals for private accounts thus far do not take into account two 
characteristics that are unique to women: One, that they have less 
earnings over their lifetime, much of it due to discrimination, some of 
it due to family responsibilities; and, second, that they simply live 
longer. Personal savings accounts would, therefore, adversely affect 
them, because they have had less time in the workforce and because they 
have had lower earnings when they have been there.
  So what does Social Security do? Recognizing this feature, instead of 
giving a benefit that looks the same for everybody, we have created a 
progressive Social Security benefit structure. The higher benefits go 
to the lower earnings, and I do not think there is anybody in America 
who would want that any different.
  Let us look at two groups of women so as to make my point, housewives 
and widows.
  Let us take a woman who has spent her life taking care of her family 
and has not gone near the workforce. She will get 50 percent of her 
spouse's benefit. She has never had and could never have a personal 
account in the stock market, no matter what we do for her.
  Let us take an older woman whose husband dies. She gets 100 percent 
of her husband's benefit. Now, the majority has typically shown 
particular concern for these women, women who have taken care of their 
families and have not gone in the workforce at all, and older women 
whose husbands have died and do not have any income. These are the 
women that must be in our mind's eye if we toy with the Social Security 
System.

  The great majority, 63 percent of women over age 62 have their own 
income, as to opposed wives and widows who get pensions. Thirty-seven 
percent have had no earnings history at all, no personal savings 
account of their own, and cannot control what a husband shall have done 
with the personal savings account that he may have. They are in our 
hands, and we have taken that responsibility through the Social 
Security system.
  I ask this body to measure any proposal that comes before it, not by 
looking at the American population as if they were some big glob, but 
to look at who is likely to be most affected by whatever we do. 
Overwhelmingly, those most affected are going to be women. It is women 
who have the most to lose. It is women who are most vulnerable.
  I ask the majority who call to the floor any discussion of changes in 
Social Security, especially discussion of personal savings account, to 
call to the floor the women whose lifelong work has been for their 
families and the women who have only their husband's pensions. Those 
women are in our hands and are dependent upon our doing the right thing 
with Social Security, bearing in mind that any personal savings account 
is not in their lexicon, has not been in their lives, and they need us 
to remember that salient fact.

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