"(Senate)Panel Sought to Tackle Social Security Costs"(is Kent Conrad D-N.D. a traitor?)

[papau]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011102063.html

Leaders of the Senate Budget Committee want to assemble a bipartisan panel of lawmakers and administration officials to deal with the skyrocketing costs of Social Security and other entitlement programs, with the goal of bringing a reform proposal to a vote in Congress later this year.

Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said he and his predecessor, Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), have asked House and Senate leaders to consider appointing the panel, which would be composed of an equal number of Republican and Democratic lawmakers. They said they have also asked the White House to participate.

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For you information:

On the good side:

1. Senator Conrad says he is eager to work in a bipartisan fashion to preserve and strengthen the Social Security program and close the long-term funding gap. He believes that any reforms to the program must maintain the basic Social Security benefit guarantee and protect low and moderate income workers. He is opposed to drastic benefit cuts.

2. In 2005 he sponsored S. 1730: Truth in Budgeting Act of 2005 To establish the Trust Fund Administration to invest in non-Federal Government debt instrument index funds all Federal trust fund revenues transferred to the Federal Government. This makes SS Trust Fund Assets "real Assets" in GOP eyes, rather than IOU's that the Government can just cancel, and it makes the unified budget, where SS surplus hides the every year since 2001 Bush $550 billion dollar annual deficit/increase in the National Debt, rather pointless since the required borrowing from the public open markets would now be related to the actual Budget shortfall.

3. As of August 2006, Conrad had the highest approval rating among his constituents of any U.S. Senator, at 74% approval to only 21% disapproval, despite his being a Democrat in a historically Republican state.



But on the side of "We can't trust him to deal with Social Security" we have:

1. Conrad refuses to push for a removal of the wage cap or the application of the payroll tax rate to investment income - indeed - he refuses to even accept a modest increase in the cap, pushing instead for an all benefit cut or means test reduced benefits TODAY SS "funding solution" for the problem that begins in 2041.

2. He wants to "improve and expand retirement savings and investment incentives" - can we say individual accounts? Individual Accounts - a universal automatic 401k type account for everyone - is not a bad thing, but it's establishment has nothing to do with Social Security and should not be used as an excuse to cut Social Security benefits. Even the "cut only the wealthier workers benefits via a means test" leads to SS as just another welfare program, and not something you contributed to and earned.

3. Conrad was one of only four Democrats to vote in favor of confirming Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

[partylessinOhio]

1. Have Democrats gone nuts? Leave Social Security alone.

Pay retirees and stop paying for wars.

Is Conrad working for Bush?

[bearfan454]

3. It sounds like it nt

[antigop]

2. Kent: REPEAT AFTER ME: THE BIGGER PROBLEM IS MEDICARE

It's Medicare, Kent. Fix Medicare first.