Excerpts from Congresswoman Pelosi's Remarks at Social Security Town Meeting
Excerpts from Congresswoman Pelosi's Remarks at Social Security Town Meeting
?48 million people currently receive Social Security benefits, one third of whom receive disability and survivor benefits? I make this special point, because no matter how far away you are from retirement, you could be 35 years old and have a family, any family in America is one telephone call away or one diagnosis away from being a survivor or having a person with disabilities in their families. So every family in America at all times in their lives benefits from a strong Social Security in addition to the independence and dignity it brings to our seniors."
?Social Security does face problems down the road. We need to solve them. And we have time to do it right.?
?Democrats believe that the three standards: fiscal responsibility, fairness, and not slashing benefits must guide is in the debate on Social Security. Democrats will not allow Republicans to turn this proud entrepreneurial achievement of the New Deal into a raw deal for America?s seniors."
"Now we like to think of the budget as a statement of our national values. What is important to us is how we allocate our resources. Wouldn?t it be a better statement to shore up Social Security to the tune of $3.7 trillion and take that $3.4 trillion as a good healthy start by doing that and rescinding that tax cut??
?We want to create a drumbeat across America to strengthen Social Security. We want to be clear that this is about strengthening it and we will not be part of increasing the deficit, stealing from Social Security, slashing benefits or being unfair to women and minorities right out from the start.?
?Democrats believe Social Security proposals must meet three principals, as I said earlier: it must not increase the deficit, it must not slash benefits, and it must be fair.?
On Cutting Guaranteed Benefits:
?The average Social Security check is $950. That is not a lot of money for those that depend on it for their rent, food, medicine, etc. Under President Bush?s proposal, benefits would be cut by more than 40 percent. Even considering a cut of that magnitude is unconscionable.?
?The President would also impose a privatization tax that would effectively deduct and average of 70 cents from a person?s Social Security check for every dollar they had in the private account. You don?t hear a lot about that. It?s called the ?clawback.? It?s a term in law called the ?clawback.?
On Fairness:
?Women are the majority of Social Security beneficiaries and are less likely than men to have pensions or retirement savings to supplement their retirement checks. Without Social Security, 50 percent of all senior women would be in poverty. And Social Security is extremely important for millions of minority families that rely hugely on the survivors and disability benefit. Fairness demands changes in Social Security not undermine entrepreneurial opportunities of our young people, and the independence of women and minorities.?