[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3224-3225]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 WE MUST NOT PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of our Social Security 
system and in opposition to radical and unnecessary plans to privatize 
this system.
  My constituents and their families know how important Social Security 
is in their lives. Almost 44 million beneficiaries each year count on 
Social Security each and every month. It is the most successful 
antipoverty program in our history. We all contribute, we all benefit, 
and we all have a responsibility to strengthen the system for future 
generations.
  That is why I will fight to stop the push by a few special interests 
to privatize our Social Security system, to

[[Page 3225]]

enshrine into law a winner-take-all, win-or-lose philosophy that would 
leave millions of Americans at risk.
  Today, nearly every family in America counts on Social Security. In 
years past, old age meant poverty. Social Security has changed that.
  For women, Social Security is particularly important. Women over 65 
count on Social Security for nearly three-quarters of their entire 
retirement income.
  For people of color, Social Security is indispensable. On average, 
people of color have lower lifetime earnings and fewer pensions. As a 
result, for more than three-quarters of all older African-American and 
Latino households, Social Security is more than half of their 
retirement income. When we consider that the Latino elderly population 
is expected to triple by the year 2030, we see that Social Security is 
growing in importance.
  For younger workers, too, Social Security matters. Today's jobs are 
leaving them with fewer resources. Only about 18 percent of employees 
in small businesses have a retirement plan and about 3 percent of 
temporary workers have one. For young people in these jobs of the 
future, Social Security's rock solid foundation is more important than 
ever.
  And let us not forget about the nearly one-third of all Social 
Security beneficiaries who are not retired. They are our friends and 
neighbors who have dealt with a tragic death or disability in their 
families and who are counting on Social Security to help them get back 
on their feet.
  Social Security means guaranteed protection no matter who you are, 
what you look like or what your luck in the market happens to be.
  But despite all this, people in my district and all across the 
country are anxious, because they have heard a consistent message that 
Social Security will not be there for them when they need it. Mr. 
Speaker, this is simply not true.
  The reality is that Social Security will be able to pay 100 percent 
of promised benefits for the next 30 years. One hundred percent. That 
is the reality. Our challenge is to strengthen the system so that it 
lasts well beyond that.
  Despite all the talk in Washington and in the media about privatizing 
Social Security, my constituents back home oppose it. They are opposed 
to gambling away the security that their families depend on for a risky 
alternative.
  It seems that the ideologues and Wall Street financiers are out of 
touch with America. They are selling a plan that would do nothing to 
fix Social Security but would eliminate its rock solid guarantee, and 
it would in fact make the system's financing even worse. To pay for 
their idea, Mr. Speaker, they would hike the retirement age to 70 or 
even higher and cut guaranteed benefits by 20 to 30 or 40 percent. In 
exchange for these benefit cuts, they would force every American to buy 
a Wall Street account that they say will make up the difference, on 
average.
  But it is important to remember that we are talking about averages 
here. Some may clean up but many will get cleaned out. Privatization 
forces all of us to carry that risk, but, win or lose, Wall Street will 
clean up with exorbitant fees to manage these mandatory accounts.
  All of this is unnecessary. We can make the minor repairs Social 
Security needs in a sensible way and maintain the vital guarantee our 
families depend on. Privatization plans fail this test.
  Last year the President and many of us pledged to save Social 
Security first. This year the President released a plan to do just 
that. It is a good start for this historic opportunity to strengthen 
Social Security for generations to come.
  I pledge to follow the will of my constituents in San Diego, 
California, to settle for nothing less. We must not privatize Social 
Security.

                          ____________________