President Bush on the 70th Anniversary of Social Security: "Determined as Ever to Give It a Makeover"

President Bush on the 70th Anniversary of Social Security:
“Determined as Ever to Give It a Makeover”

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050815/us_nm/retirement_us...

Yep. This President just does not know when to quit. The American people have spoken loudly and consistently against privatizing of Social Security as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the most successful government program in America that has lifted millions of senior citizens, people with disabilities and surviving widows and children out of poverty. Instead of listening to the united voice of the American people who do not wish for Social Security privatization, President Bush and some Republican members of Congress are rolling up their sleeves to try to squeak past a privatization bill in the fall.

So don’t rest on your laurels yet because this battle ain’t over.

President Bush and the Republican pro-privatizers in Congress continue to be less concerned about representing Americans as much as advancing their ideological agenda to privatize Social Security that would cut guaranteed benefits and bloat the bureaucracy while enriching few wealthy private investors at the expense of ordinary Americans of all ages. We need to remain vigilant in reminding our members of Congress, namely Senator Gordon Smith and Representative Greg Walden, who have yet to firmly commit to opposing the Bush/Republican privatization plan, that Oregonians will not tolerate ANY form of risky and fiscally irresponsible privatization of Social Security.

Write an e-mail letter NOW to Senator Gordon Smith at:

http://www.letterstogordonsmith.com
or
http://gsmith.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

Write an e-mail letter NOW (if you live in his district) to Congressman Greg Walden (R - 2nd District)
http://www.house.gov/htbin/formproc_za/walden/contactgreg/zip_authen.txt...

The Republican privatization plan is far from dead. The White House and Republican leadership in Congress are on record staking out the fall (September-October) as the time to push their Social Security privatization agenda. Here are some quotes that raise the specter of a heated battle over Social Security privatization in the fall:

"We're not moribund. We're not disheartened or whatever. We're working on the larger project."
[Rep. Bill Thomas (R-24th/CA), Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee; Washington Post, June 23, 2005]

The House could be ready to vote on a Social Security bill ''by the end of the year, maybe as early as September."
[Rep. Roy Blunt (R-7th/MO), third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives; Boston Globe, July 14, 2005]

“I'm not going to give up on personal accounts until the last minute.''
[Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Bloomberg, July 26, 2005]

President Bush said that he is “more committed than ever” to private accounts.
[Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2005]

Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has recently said that the House is expected to take up Social Security in September and that the Senate will follow shortly thereafter.
[The Hill, July 27, 2005]