http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-social28jan28.story THE NATION
Ominous Ring to Calls About Social Security
Automated messages to constituents in dozens of districts accuse several Republicans in Congress of trying to jeopardize the retirement program.
By Richard Simon and Peter Wallsten
Times Staff Writers
January 28, 2005
WASHINGTON — In a sign of the political dangers surrounding President Bush's plans for Social Security, a number of congressional Republicans said Thursday that their constituents had received anonymous, automated phone calls accusing the lawmakers of trying to damage the government retirement program by "privatizing" it.
House Republicans said the calls, which they labeled a "tele-scare campaign," had been made in more than a dozen congressional districts from Connecticut to Florida.
An aide to Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.), whose West Florida district includes more Social Security recipients than any other House district, said more than 200 constituents had called her office to report receiving the calls. A spokesman for Rep. C. W. "Bill" Young (R-Fla.) said his office received about 400 calls Wednesday.
Many lawmakers are already jittery about Bush's call for allowing workers to divert a portion of their payroll taxes into worker-owned investment accounts, which might be paired with cuts in promised Social Security benefits. The reported phone calls underscored the political risks of the idea. Although no one could identify the source of the calls, lawmakers interpreted them as an effort to scare voters into pressuring Congress to back away from Bush's still-emerging proposal.
"This plan would cost taxpayers $2 trillion," said the automated calls, according to a transcript provided by the office of Rep. Clay E. Shaw Jr. (R-Fla.). "It would also decrease future benefits to retirees by 47%…. Tell Congressman Shaw that we want real Social Security reform, not a risky Wall Street gamble. Call him."<snip>
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-27-social-security-calls_x.htm Anonymous message spurs calls to Capitol Hill
By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Even before President Bush offers details of his plan to overhaul Social Security, Republicans in Congress are being flooded with calls opposing it.
The automated phone message accuses House Republicans of supporting a plan that 'would cost taxpayers $2 trillion.'
By Greg Gibson, AP
Thousands of people called Capitol Hill and local offices this week after receiving an anonymous, recorded message that said their representatives support "privatizing Social Security." Recipients were given a toll-free number that connected them to the Capitol. The number belonged to the American Federation of Teachers, which said its line was hijacked.
The recorded message reached people in at least 17 Republican congressional districts in 13 states and may have gone out to more than two dozen districts, says House Republican Conference spokesman Greg Crist. Among those targeted: Louisiana's Jim McCrery and Florida's Clay Shaw, the top two Republicans on the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security.
The recorded message to constituents says in a woman's voice, "The Social Security trust fund should be in a lockbox, not a Wall Street slot machine."
At least 17 House Republicans have been contacted by constituents who received anonymous calls accusing President Bush of trying to "privatize" Social Security:
Alabama: Michael Rogers
Arizona: Rick Renzi
California: Richard Pombo
Connecticut: Nancy Johnson, Rob Simmons
Florida: Ginny Brown-Waite, Clay Shaw, Bill Young
Indiana: John Hostettler
Louisiana: Jim McCrery
Michigan: Dave Camp
Nevada: Jon Porter
New Jersey: Mike Ferguson
Ohio: Rob Portman
Pennsylvania: Philip English, Curt Weldon
Texas: Pete Sessions
Source: House Republican Conference
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