Whip Says Democrats Will Continue to Fight to Protect and Strengthen Social Security
WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the 71st anniversary of the Social Security program’s inception:
“For the last 71 years, Social Security has provided dignity, safety, and security to millions of retiring Americans, as well as to disabled Americans and children whose families experience devastating tragedies. This program has been one of the most popular and successful in American history. Preventing the privatization of Social Security that President Bush and Congressional Republicans have been advocating is one of the key elements of Democrats’ plan to lead America in a new direction.
“Privatizing Social Security would turn this program’s guaranteed benefits into a guaranteed gamble, and would have dire consequences for American families. Furthermore, it would drain vital funds from the Social Security Trust Fund, and would increase the already skyrocketing national debt by close to $5 trillion over 20 years. Therefore, the Republican plan not only jeopardizes Social Security for those who need it now; it threatens Social Security for future generations of Americans as well.
“Democrats recognize that Social Security has long-term challenges that must be addressed, and we remain committed to finding sensible solutions. Rather than continuing to push their reckless partisan policies, we hope that Republicans will join Democrats in modernizing Social Security in a bipartisan way, such as President Reagan and Speaker Thomas ‘Tip’ O’Neill were able to in 1983.”
Political analysts now expect that President Bush will attempt to revive his push to privatize Social Security sometime after the 2006 mid-term elections in November.
Congressman Hoyer is the Federal Representative for the Fifth Congressional District of Maryland. Members of the United States House of Representatives serve two-year terms. Mr. Hoyer also serves as the Minority Whip. The Minority Whip is a member of the minority party in the U.S. House of Representatives who assists the Minority Leader in coordinating the party caucus in its responses to legislation and other matters.
Mr. Hoyer’s website is located at http://www.hoyer.house.gov/. His office can be reached at (202) 225-4131. More biographical info on Mr. Hoyer can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steny_Hoyer.