[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 18 (Monday, May 7, 2001)]
[Pages 691-693]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 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.

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    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.
    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.

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