March 22nd, 2006

March 19th, 2006

March 17th, 2006

March 16th, 2006

53 Senators Vote To Raid Social Security

DeMint-Crapo Amendment Would Have Allowed the Senate to Stop Spending Social Security Surplus

Washington, D.C. – Today, fifty-three U.S. Senators voted against an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Resolution, introduced by U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), which would have allowed the Senate to create a reserve fund to protect the Social Security surplus.

“Sadly, fifty-three senators turned their backs on America’s seniors,” Senator DeMint said. “There is simply no way to save Social Security if we don’t have the courage stop using the surplus as a secret slush fund. I’m thankful there were forty-six senators who stood with America’s seniors to end the raid. We will not be deterred by cynics who offer no solutions.”

“Those who voted against this amendment voted to raid Social Security,” said Senator DeMint. “Now, every senator will be on record whether they oppose or support the raid. This said absolutely nothing about personal accounts, it was about whether you believe Social Security should be saved or allowed to wither on the vine.”

“I’m saddened this amendment was characterized inaccurately as a privatization move,” Senator DeMint. “The American public and future generations of taxpayers will suffer if we cannot address the issues regarding Social Security and fiscal discipline. It is unfortunate that we continue to have partisan rhetoric cloud the issue, and I pledge to work with other senators to address the issue.”

The current Social Security system allows Congress to spend the Social Security surplus on other government programs. Including interest, Congress has raided $1.7 trillion from Social Security since 1985. The surplus now only consists of IOU’s stacked in a vault in West Virginia that can only be paid back by raising taxes or cutting spending.

The DeMint-Crapo Amendment to Stop the Raid on Social Security would have allowed the Senate to pass legislation with the following requirements:

· Social Security surpluses must be used to help pay for future benefits

· That it make no changes to the benefits of those Americans born before January 1, 1950

· That it provide a voluntary option for younger Americans to obtain legally binding ownership of a portion of their benefits.

Senator DeMint offered an amendment today to the budget resolution that would allow Congress to stop spending Social Security surpluses on other government programs. Senator DeMint believes it is time to have a vote on Social Security to see who supports raiding the program and who does not.

Specifically, the DeMint Amendment creates a reserve fund in the budget resolution that would allow (but not force) Congress to pass legislation protecting all or part of the Social Security surpluses. The DeMint Amendment stipulates 3 requirements for any legislation considered under the budget:

If legislation were considered under this amendment, the Chairman of the Budget Committee would have to direct the various committees to generate savings in other areas to offset the amount of surpluses dedicated to Social Security. In effect, the amendment would force Congress to make difficult choices today to make Social Security more secure tomorrow.

Congress has been raiding the Social Security surplus for over twenty years. Including interest, Congress has now spent $1.7 trillion of Social Security money on other government programs. According to the Social Security Administration, Social Security will continue to run surpluses until 2017 at which time benefits will exceed revenues. The DeMint Amendment would help Congress pass legislation to protect these surpluses for the next 5 years (FY 2007-2011), which will total $423 billion.

The vote on the DeMint Amendment will likely occur sometime Thursday night and it will answer an important question – whether the Senate wants to stop spending the Social Security surplus on other government programs.

So it's time to call your parents, your grandma, your brothers and sisters, and your dog and tell them to call their Senator and URGE him or her to pass the DeMint "Reserve Fund for Social Security Amendment" to Senate Concurrent Resolution number 83.

You can find your Senator at the following page:

Find your Senator

• Management fees for personal retirement accounts would be extremely small. Estimates range from as little as 16 cents per $10,000 invested to $3 to $6 per year. Good for the investment banks, but not exactly the windfall that our opponents had complained about.
• The impact on the stock market would be small. The volume of personal accounts would amount to only a very small percentage of assets traded in the stock market.
• Those who cannot (or do not wish to) manage their personal account actively would likely be able to choose a "Lifecycle Account" that would automatically set your portfolio to the correct mix of stocks and bonds according to your age. As easy as checking yes or no on your tax return!

March 13th, 2006