Paul Ryan in Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush

On Social Security: Only younger members in Congress support reform

On Social Security, I may have misread the electoral mandate by pushing for an issue on which there had been little bipartisan agreement in the first place. With no Democrats on board, I needed strong Republican backing to get a Social Security bill through Congress. I didn't have it. Many younger Republicans, such as Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), supported reform. But few in Congress were willing to address such a contentious issue.

The collapse of Social Security reform is one of the greatest disappointments of my presidency. Despite our efforts, the government ended up doing exactly what I had warned against: We kicked the problem down the road to the next generation. In retrospect, I'm not sure what I could have done differently.

I made the case for reform as widely & persuasively as I could. The failure of Social Security reform shows the limits of the president's power. If Congress is determined not to act, there is only so much a president can do

Source: Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush, p.300 Nov 9, 2010

The above quotations are from Decision Points, by George W. Bush . Click here for other excerpts from Decision Points, by George W. Bush . Click here for other excerpts by Paul Ryan. Click here for a profile of Paul Ryan.
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org! Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Aug 18, 2011