Pat Roberts on Social SecurityRepublican Sr Senator (KS) | |
The problem that our country will soon face is the inability to pay promised benefits to future workers. The demographic reality that the baby boomers will soon retire, causing significant financial strain on the program, looms over policymakers. At this point in time, all options must be put on the table for debate. Congress must act thoughtfully and responsibly as we weigh the benefits and the risks of each proposal.
Let me be clear that any Social Security reform proposal considered by Congress must not impact current or near term retirees. That said, we must work to ensure the long term solvency of this important program. Ensuring Social Security's long term viability--for our children and their children--will not come without difficult choices.
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."
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.
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.
[As part of the Contract with America, within 100 days we pledge to bring to the House Floor the following bill]:
The Senior Citizens Fairness Act:
Raise the Social Security earnings limit, which currently forces seniors out of the workforce; repeal the 1993 tax hikes on Social Security; and provide tax incentives for private long-term care insurance to let older Americans keep more of what they have earned over the years.
Congress must address the rapidly approaching disaster of a depleted Social Security system. Within the next ten years "baby boomers" will start retiring. It is estimated that, as a result of this, by 2013 Social Security will be making greater payments to retirees than it will take in from the workforce. By 2032 the Social Security Trust Fund will be completely exhausted. Congress could rewrite this forecast by establishing individual savings accounts, restoring Social Security to permanent actuarial solvency, improving work incentives and/or resolving internal administrative problems.
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Senate races 2019-20:
AK: Sullivan(R,incumbent) vs.Gross(I) vs. AL: Jones(D,incumbent) vs.Tuberville(R) vs. AR: Cotton(R,incumbent) vs.Harrington(L) vs. AZ: McSally(R,incumbent) vs.Kelly(D) CO: Gardner(R,incumbent) vs.Hickenlooper(D) vs. DE: Coons(D,incumbent) vs. GA-2: Isakson(R,resigned) Loeffler(R,appointed) vs.Collins(R) vs.Tarver(D) vs.Warnock(D) vs. GA-6: Perdue(R,incumbent) vs.Ossoff(D) vs.Tomlinson(D) vs.Terry(D) IA: Ernst(R,incumbent) vs.Greenfield(D) vs. ID: Risch(R,incumbent) vs.Jordan(D) vs. IL: Durbin(D,incumbent) vs.Curran(R) vs. KS: Roberts(R,retiring) vs.Marshall(R) vs.Bollier(D) vs. KY: McConnell(R,incumbent) vs.McGrath(D) vs. LA: Cassidy(R,incumbent) vs.Perkins(D) vs. |
MA: Markey(D,incumbent) vs.O`Connor(R) vs.Ayyadurai(R) vs. ME: Collins(R,incumbent) vs.Gideon(D) vs. MI: Peters(D,incumbent) vs.James(R) vs.Squier(G) MN: Smith(D,incumbent) vs.Lewis(R) vs.Overby(G) vs. MS: Hyde-Smith(R,incumbent) vs.Espy(D) vs. MT: Daines(R,incumbent) vs.Bullock(D) vs. NC: Tillis(R,incumbent) vs.Cunningham(D) vs. NE: Sasse(R,incumbent) vs.Janicek(R) NH: Shaheen(D,incumbent) vs.Messner(R) vs. NJ: Booker(D,incumbent) vs.Mehta(R) vs. NM: Udall(D,retiring) vs.Lujan(D) vs.Ronchetti(R) vs.Walsh(L) vs. OK: Inhofe(R,incumbent) vs.Broyles(D) vs. OR: Merkley(D,incumbent) vs.Perkins(R) vs. RI: Reed(D,incumbent) vs.Waters(R) SC: Graham(R,incumbent) vs.Harrison(D) vs. SD: Rounds(R,incumbent) vs.Ahlers(D) vs. TN: Alexander(R,retiring) vs.Hagerty(R) vs.Bradshaw(D) vs. TX: Cornyn(R,incumbent) vs.Hegar(D) vs. VA: Warner(D,incumbent) vs. WV: Capito(R,incumbent) vs.Swearengin(D) vs. WY: Enzi(R,retiring) vs.Lummis(R) vs.Ben-David(D) vs. |
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