[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 10 (Thursday, February 3, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S917-S918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     EXTENSION OF MORNING BUSINESS

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that morning 
business be extended 10 minutes, equally divided between the majority 
and minority.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I now yield 7 minutes to the Senator 
from New York State, Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a long champion of 
the rights of women, and the rights of the elderly.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Madam President, I thank my colleague, the woman we 
call the dean of the women in the Senate.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Madam President, we are here on the floor this morning, 
after last night's State of the Union Address, to begin what is going 
to be a debate about the future of Social Security.
  Now, last night we did not receive any details from the President, 
and we do not know exactly what the President intends to propose. But 
based on the reports in the press and some of the briefings coming back 
that Senators have held with administration officials, there seems to 
be an expectation that the President will do several things.
  First, launch a very aggressive campaign, using every tool at his 
disposal, which is considerable, to persuade the country that Social 
Security is facing an imminent crisis, and that the responsible course 
of action is to do something, preferably what the President will 
recommend, and that the irresponsible course of action is to somehow 
argue with or question this presumption of there being a crisis.
  Secondly, it appears the President's plan will include privatization. 
Now, I understand the White House has sent out the word they do not 
want to use that word anymore, but let's not be fooled. What they are 
attempting to do is take a Social Security system that has worked for 
generations of Americans and begin the process of privatizing it. They 
can call it personal accounts, they can call it ownership, they can 
call it wealth creation, they can call it whatever they want to call 
it, but the bottom line is this will be a plan to begin the 
privatization of Social Security.
  And thirdly, it appears the administration will attempt to finesse, 
if not downright conceal, the real costs of their plan--in benefit 
cuts, in additional borrowing, and increasing the debt facing our 
Nation.
  So this will be a generational debate. I regret that because I think 
there are other ways to deal with some of the questions that are raised 
about the future of Social Security.
  I think we could do what was done under President Reagan, who showed 
great leadership in bringing together a bipartisan group which came 
forward with recommendations at a time when Social Security truly was 
facing a crisis. People of good faith on both sides of the aisle came 
together, agreed upon the facts, did not try to spin, did not try to 
embroider, did not try to create a sense of hysteria, but, in a very 
businesslike, professional manner said, ``What are the facts?'' and 
then came up with solutions to the problems faced in 1983. We should be 
doing the same.

  I earnestly hope the President would adopt that model of President 
Reagan. He often refers to President Reagan. Here is one instance where 
I think everyone can salute the leadership President Reagan showed.
  Those who support private accounts say they are necessary because 
Social Security faces what they call a crisis and is on the verge of 
financial collapse. Supporters of privatization say the way to avoid 
this collapse is by carving private accounts out of the system.
  This is not only a scare tactic, which I deplore and regret, but it 
is wrong on

[[Page S918]]

two counts. First, there is no imminent collapse of the Social Security 
system. And I want to assure everybody who is a faithful C-SPAN watcher 
out there--and I know there are millions of you--tell your friends and 
neighbors: Do not be misled. There is not any danger of an imminent 
collapse of the Social Security system.
  Secondly, and equally important, privatization makes the challenge of 
fixing the problems Social Security faces decades from now more 
difficult, not easier, to solve.
  Now, let's be clear. Social Security does have a financial challenge 
that does need to be addressed, but the fact remains that program will 
continue to run annual surpluses for decades to come and can pay full 
benefits until between 2042 and 2052. After that--and I won't be around 
for that, but hopefully my daughter and everyone else's children and 
these young pages will be--Social Security still will not be bankrupt 
because payroll taxes coming into the system will be enough to pay 
almost 80 percent of the benefits promised today if we do nothing to 
fix any problems so that we can provide whatever the 100-percent 
benefit level would be in 2052.
  So I believe Social Security may require some action to ensure that 
it remains strong, but it does not require fundamental changes. I would 
strongly caution against this ``medicine'' the President is 
prescribing. It will make the patient, who is well, sick. It will 
undermine the long-term health and quality of this remarkable 
achievement of the 20th century. Because, after all, Social Security is 
the largest source of retirement income in the United States. For 6 out 
of 10 seniors, it provides half or more of their total income.
  My mother was born in 1919. I hope she does not mind me telling 
everybody. Let's remember that before the enactment of Social Security, 
more than 50 percent of the Nation's elderly lived in poverty. We are 
talking about destitute poverty. Today, only 8 percent of seniors live 
in poverty. Let us also not forget that it is women like my mother who 
constitute the majority of Social Security beneficiaries: approximately 
60 percent of Social Security recipients over the age of 65, and 
roughly 72 percent of those over 85. In my State of New York, more than 
1.6 million women receive Social Security benefits.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time controlled by the Democrats has now 
expired.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent for 2 more 
minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Thank you, Madam President.
  So you can see why we have come to the floor today to talk about the 
way this affects women, because among elderly widows, such as my 
mother, Social Security provides, on average, nearly three-quarters of 
their income. Four out of 10 widows rely on Social Security to provide 
90 percent or more of their income.
  Now, we heard the President say last night that people over 55 need 
not worry. Well, what about people between 20 and 55? What about the 
50-year-old woman who has paid into Social Security for the last 30 
years? What about the 40-year-old woman who has paid into Social 
Security to ensure the retirement security of her mother and expects 
the same from her daughter? These are very important questions because 
they go to the heart of our intergenerational compact.
  So this is the first of what will be a long and very active debate. 
Let us hope at the end we conclude that we should follow President 
Reagan's example, swallow some medicine that will not kill the patient, 
work in a bipartisan manner, and preserve Social Security for years to 
come.
  Madam President, I thank my colleague from Maryland.

                          ____________________