[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14168]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NEW PLAN ON SOCIAL SECURITY

  (Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the need to strengthen 
Social Security.
  As a former president of a community college, and as a mother and 
grandmother, I have an obligation to ensure that our children and 
grandchildren are not putting their hard-earned money into a system 
that is going broke.
  Social Security is sound for today's seniors and for those nearing 
retirement, but it needs to be improved for younger generations.
  This week, my colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam 
Johnson), and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan), laid out a good 
first step to help ensure that Social Security will be there for our 
children and grandchildren.
  The GROW accounts which they described would be owned by individuals. 
Each worker would have an account with his or her name on it, and the 
accounts would be assets they can leave to their loved ones as part of 
their estate.
  And for those of us who believe that Americans can spend their money 
better than the government can, this plan is welcome news, because when 
money is placed in one's own account, that money cannot be spent on 
other government programs.
  My colleagues took a great first step. I am hopeful that the 
Democratic leadership will soon decide their obligations to the 
American public go far beyond these partisan halls.

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