Robert Menendez on Social Security Democratic Jr Senator; previously Representative (NJ-13)

Opposes privatization of Social Security

Robert Hugin (R): No stand found.

Robert Menendez (D): No. Opposes.

At forefront of fighting privatizing our “sacred compact”

A: I believe that the sacrifice, dedication and hard work of America’s “greatest generation” set an example for all generations that followed. As such, I believe that we should honor our parents by making sure they have the opportunity to retire with dignity, prosperity, and security. I hold true to my belief that Social Security is a sacred compact with both today’s seniors and tomorrow’s retirees. And, I am proud to have been at the forefront of the fight to stop President Bush’s scheme to privatize Social Security. Today, I am standing up to protect the pensions of hard-working New Jerseyans, and I am creating new incentives to encourage retirement savings.

Opposes privatization and fought Bush’s privatization scheme

KEAN: I oppose privatizing Social Security. Unlike my opponent, I also oppose raising Social Security taxes on seniors and giving Social Security benefits to illegal aliens.

MENENDEZ: No, I strongly oppose privatizing Social Security. Unlike Tom Kean Jr., I’ve consistently fought President Bush’s privatization scheme. We must protect benefits, not cut them.

Against privatization; but says Kean has voted for it

MENENDEZ: Tom Kean Jr. cannot erase his record when it comes to privatizing Social Security. On three separate instances he took the Bush position in favor of privatization. In 2000, my opponent said that he backed Bush’s scheme to privatize social security. In the state legislature, Tom Kean Jr. voted to support Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security. Twice. Pres. Bush is again rallying his troops--including Tom Kean Jr.--to create private accounts & dip into the Social Security Trust Fund.

KEAN: In 1999, when Bill Clinton proposed investing Social Security in risky privatization scheme, Bob Menendez said, “by investing today, we can be sure Social Security... will be there tomorrow.” Now he says he’s against it. Make no mistake, Bob Menendez is ready to privatize Social Security if it is what the political party bosses tell him to do.

Voted NO on establishing reserve funds & pre-funding for Social Security.

1. require that the Federal Old Age and Survivors Trust Fund be used only to finance retirement income of future beneficiaries;
2. ensure that there is no change to benefits for individuals born before January 1, 1951
3. provide participants with the benefits of savings and investment while permitting the pre-funding of at least some portion of future benefits; and
4. ensure that the funds made available to finance such legislation do not exceed the amounts estimated to be actuarially available.

Proponents recommend voting YES because:

Perhaps the worst example of wasteful spending is when we take the taxes people pay for Social Security and, instead of saving them, we spend them on other things. Even worse than spending Social Security on other things is we do not count it as debt when we talk about the deficit every year. So using the Social Security money is actually a way to hide even more wasteful spending without counting it as debt. This Amendment would change that.

Opponents recommend voting NO because:

This amendment has a fatal flaw. It leaves the door open for private Social Security accounts by providing participants with the option of "pre-funding of at least some portion of future benefits."

This body has already closed the door on the President's ill-conceived plan for private Social Security accounts. The opposition to privatization is well-known:
• Privatizing Social Security does nothing to extend the solvency of the program.
• Transition costs would put our Nation in greater debt by as much as $4.9 trillion.
• Creating private accounts would mean benefit cuts for retirees, by as much as 40%.
• Half of all American workers today have no pension plan from their employers. It is critical that we protect this safety net.

Voted YES on raising 401(k) limits & making pension plans more portable.

Voted NO on reducing tax payments on Social Security benefits.

Voted YES on strengthening the Social Security Lockbox.

Reject proposals for private saving accounts.

To reject proposals to partially or completely substitute private saving accounts for the lifelong, guaranteed, inflation-protected insurance benefits provided through Social Security. The Congress finds the following:

1. President Bush promised to partially privatize Social Security, and appointed a commission to develop a plan on his behalf.
2. The commission developed three alternative plans that would partially privatize Social Security.
3. The plans divert substantial monies from the Social Security Trust Funds to pay for the private accounts, which threatens benefits for current beneficiaries by significantly weakening the financial condition of the Trust Funds.
4. The plans' cuts in disability and survivor benefits directly contradict the President's promise that disability and survivor benefits would be preserved under privatization.
5. Furthermore, these reductions in guaranteed benefits apply to all workers, regardless of whether they chose to have an individual account or not.
6. Substituting private accounts for guaranteed Social Security benefits increases financial risk for retirees, disabled workers and their families.
7. Moreover, other proposals to privatize Social Security, such as the 'Social Security Guarantee Plus' plan or the 'Social Security Ownership and Guarantee' plan, establish private accounts that directly or indirectly reduce Social Security benefits.

• The Congress hereby commits to preserve the guaranteed, lifelong, inflation-protected benefits provided under the Social Security Act to retirees, disabled workers and their families, and the survivors of deceased workers; and
• Congress therefore rejects the President's plans to partially privatize Social Security, and other proposals to privatize Social Security by establishing private accounts that would undermine traditional Social Security benefits.

Rated 90% by the ARA, indicating a pro-senior voting record.

The mission of the Alliance for Retired Americans is to ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens so that they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and security. The Alliance believes that all older and retired persons have a responsibility to strive to create a society that incorporates these goals and rights and that retirement provides them with opportunities to pursue new and expanded activities with their unions, civic organizations and their communities.

The following ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.

Rated 90% by ARA, indicating a pro-Trust Fund stance.

Scoring system for 2014: Ranges from 0% (supports privatization and other market-based reforms) to 100% (supports keeping federal control over Trust Fund and Social Security system).

About ARA (from their website, www.RetiredAmericans.org):

The Alliance for Retired Americans is a nationwide organization, founded in May 2001, with now over 4.2 million members working together to make their voices heard in the laws, policies, politics, and institutions that shape our lives. The mission of the Alliance for Retired Americans is to ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens so that they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and security.

• Alliance members visit the polls in record numbers. We use the power of our membership and our Congressional Voting Record to educate and mobilize seniors to elect leaders committed to improving the lives of retirees and older Americans.
• We are effectively warding off cuts to our most important social programs like Social Security and Medicare. Our Human Chain Against the Chained CPI events in the summer of 2013 took place in more than 50 cities and mobilized support for stopping this cut to earned Social Security benefits.
• We blocked the privatization of Social Security with our Social Security "Truth Truck" delivering 2.1 million petitions to Members of Congress and other tactics.
• The Alliance makes its voice heard on the issues that matter not just to current retirees, but to all Americans who hope to retire one day. We were a leading voice in recent debates considering changes to Medicare, like replacing guaranteed benefits with a voucher system, and remain so in 2014.