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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas A Watson who wrote (159744)	7/10/2001 9:30:20 PM
From: puborectalis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

O'Neill offers to meet Democrats on Social Security WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill Tuesday stood by past remarks that the trust fund for Social Security was not backed by what he termed ``real economic assets'' but offered to meet with House Democrats critical of his comments on the issue. ``The reality ... as confirmed in the Clinton Administration's 2000 budget, is that because the Social Security trust fund does not consist of real economic assets we are left to rely on the Federal government's future decisions either to raise taxes, reduce spending, or increase borrowing from the public to finance fully Social Security's promised benefits,'' said O'Neill in a letter to Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York and Rep. Robert Matsui of California. O'Neill riled the two top level Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee when he told a financial business group in New York last month that the retirement system's trust fund has no assets other than ``promises of the good faith and credit'' of the government that benefits will be paid, a reference to Treasury debt securities held in the fund. According to a Democratic fact sheet released Tuesday, Social Security holds no cash in its trust fund, but converts proceeds from payroll taxes into short-term and long-term Treasury securities that it routinely redeems in order to pay monthly benefits. It also notes that the Medicare health care program for the elderly from 1973-1983 redeemed U.S. bonds held in its trust fund in order to pay benefits when tax receipts fell short of benefit costs. President Bush has called for an overhaul of the Social Security retirement program, urging creation of individual accounts that workers could invest in stocks and bonds. He appointed a bipartisan panel of experts to make recommendations on individual investment accounts. The panel plans to issue an interim report later this month on the financial problems facing the retirement system when the baby boom generation begins to retire in a decade. Since O'Neill's remarks to the New York financial group, Rangel, the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee and Matsui, the ranking Democrat on the panel's Social Security subcommittee, engaged in an exchange of letters with the Treasury secretary. The lawmakers told O'Neill his remarks could undermine confidence in U.S. government bonds held by investors around the world. In his letter to the lawmakers Tuesday, O'Neill suggested the three meet to discuss the issue. ``Rather than continuing to write letters back and forth, why don't we get together to discuss these issues. I have asked my staff to reach out to your office to arrange for a mutually convenient time as soon as possible,'' O'Neill said.