 |
 |
Senate May Vote on Personal Accounts Next Week
November 17th 02:12:48 AM
From Cato
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has agreed to allow supporters of Social Security reform to bring two bills directly to the floor for a vote, possibly as early as next week. The bills are S1302, sponsored by Sen. Jim DeMint, which would use Social Security surpluses to fund personal accounts, and S1750, sponsored by Sen. Rick Santorum, which would guarantee currently promised Social Security benefits to everyone age 55 and older. The move would come under an expedited procedure that bypasses committee action. An exact date for a vote has not been announced, but Sens. DeMint and Santorum are expected to act quickly. A White House spokesman announced this week that the president "believes the approach by Sens. Santorum and DeMint moves in the right direction."
Reform supporters do not believe that they have sufficient votes to pass either bill, particularly in the face of an expected Democratic filibuster. But a vote (even on cloture) would be the first opportunity to put Senators on the record for or against personal accounts. A strong pro-account vote could build momentum and keep the debate alive into 2006.
Supporters of reform generally regard S1302 as an incremental, but positive first step on the road to reform. (See, Michael Tanner, "The Personal Lockbox: A First Step on the Road to Social Security Reform,
" Cato Institute Social Security Paper no. 36, September 13, 2005.) A similar bill, HR3304, known as GROW (Growing Real Ownership for Workers) has been introduced in the House by Reps. Jim McCrery (R-LA), Sam Johnson (R-TX), Clay Shaw (R-FL), and Paul Ryan (R-WI). That bill is currently stalled in the Ways and Means Committee, although Rep. McCrery has indicated that it could receive a vote next spring.
S1750 is generally regarded as a symbolic measure intended to reassure seniors and those close to retirement that they have nothing to fear from reform.
Posted by Chris Schrimpf
Comments
Hope these fail for America's sake.
See:
http://weblog.secureourfuture.org/mt-tb.cgi/199
SS Equity Funds EQUAL Big Government Corruption!
S4 Sucks and Gives Change!
Posted by Noid on November 17th 09:23:12 PM
|
|
|
|
|
