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Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Finance Committee Hearing on SS Solvency
The Senate Finance Committe held a hearing yesterday on the issue of Social Security solvency and private accounts. Witnesses testifying before the committee included Peter Orszag from the Brookings Institution, Robert Pozen, whose Social Security plan has been praised by Bush, Joan Entmacher of the National Women's Law Center, Michael Tanner of Cato, and Peter Ferrara of the Free Enterprise Fund. Click here for witness testimonies. Committee Chairman Charles Grassley told reporters after the hearing that he wants to move forward with Social Security legislation. Republicans on the committee are planning to meet in two weeks to start coming with legislation that Grassley hopes will appeal to the Democrats on the committee, which include Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), John Kerry (D-MA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
While the Democratic senators seem to be united in their opposition to private accounts, Republicans are more splintered on the issue. During yesterday's hearing Craig Thomas (R-WY) questioned a move that would add trillions of dollars to our debt, and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) seemed opposed to personal investment accounts. She said, "Social Security became the bedrock of support for seniors in my state precisely because it's defined and guaranteed. What cost and what risk is it worth to erode the guaranteed benefit?"
Click here and here for newspaper articles on the hearing as well as the Social Security rally that took place yesterday afternoon on Capitol Hill.
Posted by Becky Lewis
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