[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: GEORGE W. BUSH (2001, Book I)]
[May 2, 2001]
[Pages 477-479]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Establishing the President's Commission To Strengthen
Social Security
May 2, 2001

    The President. Please be seated. Mr. Secretary, thank you for 
coming. Members of the newly formed Social Security Commission, I want 
to thank you all for being here. And I want to thank your family members 
who are here, as well.
    Social Security is one of the greatest achievements of the American 
Government and one of the deepest commitments to the American people. 
For more than six decades, it has protected our elderly against poverty 
and assured young people of a more secure future. It must continue to do 
this important work for decades to come.
    Yet, it has been apparent for many years that Social Security, 
itself, is becoming insecure. Social Security was designed for an era 
when few Americans lived much past the age of 65 and when families of 
three or four children were more than the exception. When Social 
Security was created, there was about 40 workers paying Social Security 
taxes for every one retiree receiving benefits. Today, there are three 
workers for every retiree; soon, there will be two. Long life is a 
blessing. Smaller families are an individual choice. But the consequence 
of this blessing and this choice is that the Social Security payroll 
tax, which was once 2 percent, has now passed 12 percent. Economists 
calculate that it will have to rise past 18 percent if the baby boomers 
are to receive the same benefits that Social Security has promised, 
unless we take steps soon to reform the way Social Security is financed.
    The threat to the stability of Social Security has been apparent for 
decades. For years, political leaders have agreed that something must be 
done, but nothing has been done. We can postpone action no longer. 
Social Security is a challenge now. If we fail to act, it will become a 
crisis. We must save Social Security, and we now have the opportunity to 
do so. Our Government will run large budget surpluses over the next 10 
years. These surpluses provide an opportunity to move to a stronger 
Social Security system.
    Two months ago, in my address to Congress, I described the 
principles that must guide any reform of Social Security. First, Social 
Security reform must preserve the benefits of all current retirees and 
those nearing retirement. Second, Social Security reform must return the 
Social Security system to sound financial footing. Third, Social 
Security reform must offer personal savings accounts to younger workers 
who want them. Today, young workers who pay into Social Security might 
as well be saving their

[[Page 478]]

money in their mattresses. That's how low the return is on their 
contributions. And the return will only decline further--maybe even 
below zero--if we do not proceed with reform.
    Personal savings accounts will transform Social Security from a 
Government IOU into personal property and real assets, property that 
workers will own in their own names and that they can pass along to 
their children. Ownership, independence, access to wealth should not be 
the privilege of a few; they're the hope of every American, and we must 
make them the foundation of Social Security.
    Today I am naming a Presidential Commission to turn these principles 
into concrete reforms. This task is not easy, but the mandate is clear: 
Strengthen Social Security and make its promise more certain and 
valuable for generations to come. I have asked the Commission to deliver 
its report later this fall.
    Social Security does not belong to any one political party, so the 
Commission is drawn from both parties. Social Security does not belong 
to the Government or to the politicians, and so my Commission has 
members from many different walks of life. It will be chaired by two 
outstanding Americans: Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Richard Parsons of 
AOL/Time Warner.
    Senator Moynihan has been aptly 
described as the Nation's best thinker among politicians since Lincoln 
and its best politician among thinkers since Jefferson. A profound mind, 
a compassionate heart, and a farseeing imagination have distinguished 
him throughout his career.
    Our task today is to preserve what is the best in Social Security 
while updating it, and for a new time. And nobody will do that job 
better than this great student of Social Security's history and stalwart 
champion of Social Security's principles.
    As cochief operating officer of AOL/Time Warner, Richard 
Parsons is one of the leaders of this 
Nation's information age economy. Few people have served more tours of 
duty in the American Government and business--a senior aide in the Ford 
administration, managing partner of a distinguished law firm, CEO of a 
major savings bank, before becoming president of Time Warner.
    Mr. Parsons serves his community as 
ably as he's served his country. He chairs the Upper Manhattan 
Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, where he mobilized the 
creativity of the private sector to bring jobs and opportunity to people 
in need. And he sits on the boards of Howard University and the Lincoln 
Center. Richard Parsons represents in our time the spirit of business 
statesmanship at its highest.
    Fourteen other fine Americans have joined the Moynihan-Parsons 
commission; seven of them are Republicans, and seven are Democrats. They 
include a former aide to Robert Kennedy and a former aide to Ronald 
Reagan, political leaders, entrepreneurs, eminent experts on the Social 
Security system. Every one of these fine men and women is passionately 
committed to the safety, success, and long-term security of Social 
Security.
    I'm giving this Commission a great task, and its members have my 
full faith. When it makes its report, the Congress and I will face some 
serious decisions, but we must be inspired by the example of the founder 
of Social Security, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In his Fireside 
Chat of September 1934, shortly before Congress enacted Social Security, 
he warned that there will always be those ``frightened by boldness and 
cowed by the necessity for making decisions.'' They will complain, he 
said, ``that all we have done is unnecessary and subject to great 
risks.''
    But now, as then, bold action and serious decisions are necessary, 
and we in our time must rededicate ourselves to the great ideal 
Roosevelt defined 67 years ago: greater freedom and greater security for 
the average man than he has ever known before in the history of America. 
That's our charge, and we must keep it.

[[Page 479]]

    And now, one of the Cochairmen of this Commission, Senator Daniel 
Patrick Moynihan.

[At this point, former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Richard D. Parsons 
made brief remarks.]

    The President. I now have the honor of signing the Commission into 
being.

[The President signed the Executive order.]

    The President. Thank you all very much. Thanks for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 10:27 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. The Executive order of May 2 is listed in Appendix D at the end 
of this volume.