[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19505]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             PROTECTING SOCIAL SECURITY MUST BE A PRIORITY

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to underscore 
the importance of protecting the Social Security system from the 
dangers of privatization. We already know that Social Security is 
keeping tens of millions of older Americans out of poverty. Two-thirds 
of our senior citizens rely on Social Security for more than half of 
their income.
  In addition to our seniors, 14 million Americans also rely on Social 
Security to provide vital disability or survivor benefits every month.
  When we consider who will be impacted, it is easy to see why my 
colleagues in the Republican Party are ducking the debate on 
privatization. After all, the success of these plans rests on the 
performance of the same equity markets that have lost $4.5 trillion in 
the last 18 months. So I really do not blame them for wanting to dodge 
the question or wanting to play down previous endorsements of 
privatizing Social Security.
  After all, the safety net of Social Security has never been more 
important, especially in light of the staggering losses to retirement 
savings plans under this administration's failed economic policies.
  In 2001 alone, 401(k) plans lost roughly $210 billion, while 
individual retirement accounts shed an additional $230 billion. So it 
is no surprise that Republicans do not want to talk about the fact that 
their privatization plan will result in benefit cuts up to 40 percent.
  They do not want to talk about the fact that privatizing Social 
Security could force workers to delay their retirement in order to 
collect full benefits. They do not want to talk about the fact that 
benefit cuts would impact all beneficiaries, even those who choose not 
to open personal accounts, and Republicans certainly do not want to 
talk about the $2 trillion that would be siphoned away from the trust 
fund in order to set up these private accounts. After all, who wants to 
call attention to the fact that taking a mere 2 percent of payroll 
taxes away from the trust fund can double or triple the size of the 
Federal deficit.
  It is not a pretty picture. However, this debate is simply too 
important for us to allow our colleagues to stick their heads in the 
sand or to defer their plans to undermine the system until after the 
2002 elections, and I also think it is especially important to set the 
record straight on privatization because there are some people out 
there who want to paint Social Security as a bad deal for African 
Americans and other people of color. In fact, one recent Republican 
political ad even went so far as to label Social Security as reverse 
reparations, a false and truly offensive claim against a program that 
provides the only guaranteed safety net for millions of African 
American men, women, and children.
  We must never forget that Social Security is the single most 
important source for African American retirees, providing on average 
three-quarters of their retirement income. We must also dispel the myth 
that private accounts would be good for African Americans. 
Privatization undermines the guaranteed benefits that keep millions of 
African American seniors out of poverty, and it undermines the system's 
progressive benefits structure which helps minorities compensate for a 
lifetime average of lower wages and less savings.
  I believe that these risks are unacceptable. Protecting the financial 
security of our seniors and our most vulnerable is a social compact 
that was forged with the greatest generation, and now we have a 
responsibility to protect this system for our children's generations.
  To that end, I believe that the only course of action is a fair and 
balanced debate about the future of Social Security. Our constituents 
deserve to hear an honest conversation about what will happen if we put 
our faith and our retirement savings in the stock market. They deserve 
to hear what plans Members have to guarantee Social Security benefits 
before they go to the polls in November, and they deserve to see us 
roll up our sleeves and get to work on protecting their retirement 
security.
  Mr. Speaker, let us debate Social Security privatization now. It is 
much too important to wait.

                          ____________________