[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 172 (Wednesday, December 12, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H9245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          REJECT RECOMMENDATIONS OF SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSION

  (Mr. UDALL of New Mexico asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, there are three good reasons we 
should reject the recent recommendations of the Social Security 
commission, this commission that has said that we should move in the 
direction of privatizing Social Security.
  The first is the commission was stacked with individuals who had a 
preconceived notion of the outcome. Second, the commission recommends 
private accounts but does not take into consideration the cost. Many 
observers believe converting Social Security to private accounts would 
cost $1 trillion. Where is that money to come from? Out of Social 
Security, of course.
  And finally, private accounts invested in the market are risky 
investments. We only need to look at our recent downturn to see how 
risky these investments are. Are we going to throw people out on the 
streets in their golden years because they have lost their retirements 
in the market? I certainly hope not.

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