[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3759-3760]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   STRENGTHENING SOCIAL SECURITY NOW

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
appreciation of President Bush seeking to strengthen our Social 
Security system.
  When Social Security was conceived in the mid-1930s, the average age 
of life expectancy in the United States was 60.

[[Page 3760]]

Today the average American's life expectancy is over 77.
  Americans are now receiving benefits over longer periods of time 
because we are so grateful they are living longer. Our current Social 
Security system is financially broken, outdated, and unable to meet the 
retirement needs of our children and grandchildren.
  If we fail to act now, we will burden further generations with 
dramatically higher taxes, massive new borrowing, or sudden and severe 
cuts to Social Security benefits or other government programs. In 1998, 
President Bill Clinton said, ``My fellow baby boomers, let me say that 
none of us wants our own retirement to be a burden to our children and 
to their efforts to raise our grandchildren.''
  Seven years later, we still have not solved the problems facing 
Social Security.
  Congress must act soon to provide younger Americans with retirement 
choices and strengthen benefits for today's retirees. We need to fix 
the system now, once and for all.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September 11.

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