And increase the age limit for full benefits to 67 by 2012.
washingtonpost.com
Social Security Bill Eases Up on Accounts
By DAVID ESPO
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 21, 2005; 10:48 PM
WASHINGTON -- Key House Republicans scrambled Tuesday to craft Social Security legislation that sidetracks the most controversial elements of President Bush's plan, officials said, the latest sign of unease with the administration's campaign for personal accounts financed from payroll taxes.
Even so, a White House spokesman insisted that Bush remains committed to his call for personal accounts. "He is not" retreating, said Trent Duffy.
Bush has called for personal accounts, financed from a portion of payroll taxes, to be included in a broader bill that achieves long-term solvency in the Depression-era program. Public opinion polls have shown tepid support at best for the accounts and for the principal alternatives to achieving greater financial solvency _ raising the retirement age, curtailing benefits or raising taxes.
In the House, a handful of Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee arranged for a news conference Wednesday to discuss legislation that officials said would leave Social Security finances untouched. The emerging bill "doesn't deal with solvency," according to one aide, indicating that it avoids politically difficult issues of curtailing benefits or raising taxes.
The bill sets aside surplus Social Security trust fund money _ expected to disappear in 2017 _ for personal accounts, a significant departure from Bush's call for funds nourished annually from payroll taxes. Under current law, any payroll tax money not used to finance monthly benefits is in effect loaned out by Social Security to the Treasury, which uses it to finance other government programs.
In political terms, one aide familiar with the planning said Republicans intend to say the legislation would "stop the raid" on Social Security, a claim designed to reassure seniors that their benefits are safe and that trust fund money is set aside. Public polling has shown that seniors are particularly suspicious of Bush's proposals.
The officials who spoke did so on condition of anonymity, saying they had been barred from discussing details until a formal announcement is made.
As of Tuesday night, it wasn't clear whether these personal accounts would offer individuals the chance for higher benefits or expose them to a risk of smaller payments.
Numerous House GOP aides said Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was involved in work on the bill, and met during the day with top GOP leaders to discuss it.
While Thomas was not among the lawmakers who said they would attend the news conference, several members of the committee that he chairs were scheduled to attend.
Across the Capitol, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said he was crafting similar legislation to prevent the government from using trust fund surplus money on non-Social Security programs. He said his bill would instead set aside the money for personal accounts from surplus funds rather than current payroll taxes. It contains "no benefit cuts, no tax increase" and no increases in the retirement age, he added.
DeMint, one of the most vocal supporters of Bush's call for personal accounts, described his measure as "the first bite of the apple," leading toward more fundamental changes in the future.
As did House GOP aides, he cast the measure in terms designed to turn the tables on Democrats who have refused to engage in bipartisan negotiations until Bush abandons his call for personal accounts.
"The party of no will have a hard time saying no to saving Social Security," he said.
Separately, Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, told reporters he had informed the president he plans to offer legislation designed to provide greater solvency to Social Security without the personal accounts that Democrats object to.
Unlike the other measures under consideration, it includes steps to place Social Security on a stronger financial footing. The bill would curtail promised benefits for future middle- and upper-income wage earners, while protecting benefits for those who made less money during their working lives.
"He indicated that I should go forward and do that," Bennett said of his bill. "And I'm grateful to have him do that even though his own preference would be to have personal accounts included."
Later, in remarks on CNN, Bennett said that while Bush had spoken favorably of steps to achieve greater solvency, he "didn't specifically say, 'And it's a good thing you're dropping private accounts.' Frankly, that didn't come up." Bennett supports individual accounts.
Bush and other supporters of private investment accounts argue they are needed to modernize the program. Under current projections, Social Security will begin to pay out more in benefits than it receives in tax receipts in 2017, and the trust funds will be depleted in 2041. At that point, benefits would be cut to adjust for the reduction in available funds.
© 2005 The Associated Press |
