[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 22, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H2837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              JUST SAY NO TO SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZATION

  (Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, all we need to do is just say no to 
privatization of Social Security. When it comes to reforming Social 
Security, our Republican majority thinks they can fool the American 
people. They think that if they avoid the words like ``privatization'' 
that they will be able to mask the true nature of their Social Security 
reform proposal.
  In Texas we have a saying, ``You can put lipstick and earrings on a 
hog and call it Monique, but it's still a pig.'' No matter how much our 
Republican friends want to dress up their proposal to disguise its 
details, it is still privatization.
  Privatization schemes, let us just be honest and call them what they 
are, would cut benefits, increase administrative costs and place the 
financial health of the Social Security program in jeopardy, but 
suddenly, in an election year, my colleagues changed their tune. They 
will do anything, say anything, to hide their true agenda. This is a 
cynical ploy, and the American people will see through it.
  Let us call privatization what it is, and a pig, a pig.

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