Ehrlich on Washington column, July 9, 2001

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 205 1 5 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of July 9, 200 1 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Putting Security Back In Social Security Franklin Roosevelt once said that the only thing Americans have to fear is fear itself. As the architect of America’s Social Security system, FDR understood that fear of change would be the greatest obstacle to this country’s success. Over a half century later, President George W. Bush has a forward-thinking solution to the problems facing today’s Social Security system. President Bush has proposed establishing private social security accounts, so that Americans can set aside a small portion of their social security payments into the stocks and portfolios of their choice - not the government’s. By providing greater financial freedom, generations of Americans will secure a higher rate of return on their life-long payments into Social Security, and use those benefits to plan a financially sound retirement. We now know that Social Security reform is more urgent than ever before. Remarkably, the Social Security Board of Trustees recently forecast that the Social Security trust funds will be exhausted by 2038. Moreover, Americans who retire at that time will receive no more than a 2% return on their contributions to the program, far lower than any previous generation. These problems are a result of the retirement of the baby boom generation and the increasing life expectancy among America’s seniors. This past May, President Bush created the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. This bipartisan commission is headed by former Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and includes forward-thinking Americans such as Richard Johnson, CEO of Black Entertainment Television. The goal of the commission is to submit recommendations to the President that will modernize Social Security and restore the systems to fiscal soundness. I have great confidence in the members of this commission, who share my commitment to Social Security and the reforms which will make it vibrant once again. Ironically, the party of FDR now relies on fear in order to maintain the status quo. Democrat leaders like Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt have referred to the President’s plan as a “risky” financial scenario, making it clear that they lack the confidence in Americans to make sound investments on their own.