[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 21 (Tuesday, March 1, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1815-S1816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SOCIAL SECURITY

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise this morning to talk about the 
great leadership our President is providing in the area of Social 
Security.
  When Social Security was created in 1935, the average lifespan of an 
American was about 64, and 54 percent of the workers in our country 
were expected to live to collect Social Security. So the system was 
sound and, of course, the actuarial table was sound.
  So much has changed--all for the good--in our country. In fact, today 
our life expectancy is 79 plus for a woman and 74 plus for a man. Yet 
we know that is going to get better. People are going to live even 
longer than that and, furthermore, they are going to be healthy. They 
are going to be able to collect more than they invested in their Social 
Security.
  Our President is looking at the facts. Our President is looking at 
the statements from the previous administration, President Clinton, who 
said: There is a red flag here and we better look at Social Security if 
we are going to start the process of determining what is the right 
thing to keep Social Security stable.
  But it was before that that our President started seeing this looming 
crisis on the horizon. Today we know from the testimony of the Chairman 
of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, that in 2008, the baby boomers 
are going to start coming into the Social Security system. In 13 years, 
2018, the Government will begin for the first time to pay out more than 
it is collecting. That means we are going to start seeing more 
encroachment on the deficit. By 2042, the fact is there will be an 
absolute bankruptcy.
  By law today, what happens when that occurs, when bankruptcy is 
declared, benefits will automatically be cut without any further action 
of Congress or the President--drastic cuts, probably 25-percent cuts. 
So if we are going to keep our promise to the people in the system 
today, to the people in the system 10 years from now, we are going to 
have to take action to preserve those benefits in a fiscally 
responsible way. If we are going to keep the promise to people who are 
20, 25, 30, 35, we are going to have to do something that is innovative 
and creative, something that has been tried in other countries, and it 
has worked, and that is to allow our young people to set aside 2 or 3 
percent of their 12 percent in a personal account that they can own 
themselves and control with investments that would be certified 
investments. What would be certified is something like a 401(k) 
offering, something like a total market index and a total bond index or 
a 50/50 total market/total bond index, something very conservative and 
proven through all the cycles of the stock market to be much better in 
return than anything someone could get in Social Security.
  Young people overwhelmingly favor this option because they know they 
will be able to build up and get bigger checks, with less government 
responsibility, and they will be able to pass to their children what is 
left over in their accounts when they die so their children will have a 
nest egg to grow.
  This is something the President wants Congress to do, and I am going 
to help him because I believe it is the right thing to do for our 
country, for the young people coming into our system, to make sure they 
have something better if they choose that option.
  The important thing that has been missed in much of this debate is 
that personal accounts are an option. If someone wants to stay in the 
system exactly as it is now, they have that option. But if they want to 
go into the new system, which would allow them to take some part of 
their present tax and have a little more control and absolute 
ownership, they have it as an option. People 55, 60 will probably not 
do it, but a lot of people who are 50 and certainly people below 50 are 
going to look at that, and we will have a huge influx into that new 
option that will then allow a better future and an ownership that has 
never been allowed before.
  Our President is taking the lead. We have a duty, as Congress, 
Republicans and Democrats together, to sit down with the President to 
discuss different plans. Maybe we can take something from this plan and 
something from that plan. Personally, I will not support raising taxes. 
I don't think we need to do it if we plan ahead. I will not support 
raising the limit on the salaries that are now taxed. That is 
unnecessary if we take steps now to start a transition process that 
will eventually take more of the burden off Government and make the 
Social Security system sound. But that is my opinion.

  There are others on the other side of the aisle and on our side of 
the aisle who may have a different view. Some may favor a part of what 
the President

[[Page S1816]]

favors. Some may not. The important thing is that we recognize our 
President's leadership, that he is not saying: I am going to walk away 
from this. He is saying: I am going to do the right thing. And he is 
asking Congress to sit down with him. We owe him that because he is 
trying to do the right thing.
  Secondly, it is irresponsible for any sitting Member of the Senate or 
the House of Representatives not to come to the table. Certainly we 
have disagreements, but all of us have the same goal. The goal is to 
save Social Security for future generations and to do it in the least 
expensive, most efficient, least obtrusive way we possibly can.
  I am proud of the President's leadership. I am proud to support him 
in saying: Yes, we are going to do what is necessary now when it is 
less painful and less expensive.
  I will now turn the rest of our time over to the distinguished 
Senator from Kansas. I note that he has just returned from Iraq. I 
think he just returned last night. I appreciate so much his coming to 
the Senate floor when I am sure he has jet lag. I know he has been 
through a trying time because like myself and others--we have been to 
Iraq. We know that it is a tough trip but certainly something worth 
doing for every sitting Member of Congress. You do learn so much about 
what our troops need, what they are facing. You want to pat them on the 
back and let them know how much America appreciates the efforts they 
are making.
  I appreciate Senator Brownback being here this morning. I appreciate 
very much his willingness to come to the floor and speak.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.

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