GOP lawmaker on SS reform: 'It's Over'

GOP’s stealth plans for Social Security privatization
Author: John Gallo
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 09/01/05 09:40

If you thought privatization of Social Security was dead and we won, think again. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Republicans are planning a devious plan to sneak in private accounts this fall, doing it in a way that will not require Senate committee approval. And Karl Rove is involved, meaning this is still a high priority. Rove recently said the House would act on Social Security next month and the Senate soon after. Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), chair of the House Ways and Mean Committee, also said his panel will introduce a “retirement security” bill in September. It has also been rumored that the weakening of pension rights and the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) would also be included.

The House bill is apparently going to be the “Growing Real Ownership for Workers Act of 2005” (HR 3304), introduced by Rep. Jim McCrery (R-La.), which, according to the Dallas paper, “privatization proponents are trying to pass off as a new idea to stop the ‘raiding’ of Social Security.” The Morning News says, “That’s baloney: The McCrery bill is the first step toward President Bush’s plan to privatize and ruin Social Security — nothing more. When Congress comes back from vacation in September, the push for private accounts will begin quickly with the House Ways and Means Committee taking up the McCrery measure. The bill creates private accounts, cuts guaranteed benefits and increases the national debt.”

Because the GOP has insufficient support in the Senate Finance Committee, and the Democrats are solid in their opposition and could sustain a filibuster, the GOP leadership will use the same shady method they used to pass their phony Medicare prescription drug program. Here’s how they plan to pass a privatization bill:

• The Senate Finance Committee passes any old bill that has to do with retirement or Social Security, but does not include privatization. The Senate passes it.

• The GOP-dominated House passes a bill with privatization.

• Republicans send the two bills to conference and come up with a bill that includes privatization but didn’t have to get through the Senate Finance Committee.

• Then, the administration and GOP congressional leadership do what they did to get the Medicare Rx bill passed: bribery, blackmail, nuclear option and 3 a.m. votes.

John Gallo (jgallo@clevelandaflcio.org) is coordinator of the Coalition to Protect Social Security, in northeast Ohio.

Continued @ http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2545&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

H.R.3304
Title: To amend the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to stop the Congress from spending Social Security's tax revenue surpluses on other Government programs by dedicating those surpluses to personal accounts.
Sponsor: Rep McCrery, Jim (introduced 7/14/2005) Cosponsors (44)
Latest Major Action: 7/14/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

SUMMARY AS OF:
7/14/2005--Introduced.

Growing Real Ownership for Workers Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) to add a new part B (GROW Accounts Program) under which a GROW Accounts Board shall establish a GROW account for each participating individual.

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, during each calendar year, to transfer to the Board for deposit into an interim fund, amounts equal in the aggregate to 100% of the net OASDI Trust Fund surplus for such calendar year.

Requires the interim fund to be invested by the Board in marketable Government Securities.

Provides for distributions of an account balance at retirement and treatment of part A (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) benefit payments.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exempt all GROW accounts from federal taxes; (2) make account distributions taxable as Social Security benefits; and (3) exempt assets of GROW accounts from the estate tax.

http://thomas.loc.gov / (Enter bill number HR 3304)

Tell Congress: Don't Privatize Social Security

Your members of Congress can give all their constituents a big
Labor Day gift by pledging not to privatize Social
Security--America's most successful family protection program.

Shortly after Labor Day, Congress will begin work on President
Bush's plan to replace Social Security's guaranteed benefits
with risky private accounts--and in the process slash benefits,
rack up massive new federal debt for our children to pay off,
open Social Security up to corruption and possibly raise the
retirement age.

Please send a message to your senators and representative right
now urging them to pledge to oppose Social Security
privatization. Click on the link below:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/PledgeforSocialSecurity

If we convince enough members of Congress to sign the pledge,
President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security won't stand a
chance. It won't be easy, but together we can do this.

When Congress gets back to work in September, the push for
private accounts will begin quickly with the House Ways and
Means Committee taking up H.R. 3304, a bill by Rep. Jim McCrery
(R-La.) that privatization proponents claim is a new idea to
stop the "raiding" of Social Security by Congress.

Wrong! The McCrery bill is the first step toward President
Bush's plan to privatize and ruin Social Security--and nothing
more. It creates private accounts, cuts guaranteed benefits,
increases the national debt--and does absolutely nothing to stop
the raids on the Social Security surplus or keep the program
solvent.

Our members of Congress need to STRENGTHEN Social
Security--America's most successful family security program--not
privatize it. Click on the link below now to urge them to pledge
to oppose Social Security privatization:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/PledgeforSocialSecurity

Privatization plans would fatally undermine Social Security by
tossing out the program's promised benefits in exchange for
no-guarantee privatized accounts. More retirees would live out
their years in poverty because of huge benefit cuts. In the
first 20 years alone, privatization could add $4.9 trillion to
the federal debt. And privatization would open Social Security
up to political corruption and Enron-ization, because
politicians would chose which Wall Street firms could make
billions off privatized accounts.

Tell Congress to protect workers and their retirement this Labor
Day season. Urge them to sign the pledge to oppose Social
Security privatization. Click on the link below:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/PledgeforSocialSecurity

Thank you for taking action for retirement security.

In solidarity,

Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO
Aug. 25, 2005