Social Security

SOCIAL SECURITY -- (Senate - February 03, 2005)

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, as the senior Democratic woman of the Senate, I rise to tell my colleagues today that we, the Democratic women of the Senate, want to take the floor together and unanimously stand up for Social Security. We want to stand up for American families, stand up for American children, and stand up against the dismemberment of Social Security. This morning my colleagues will see all of us taking the floor to speak with passion, to speak with fortitude, to say that no matter what happens in the legislative days ahead, the outcome will be that Social Security will always be a guaranteed benefit and not a guaranteed gamble.

When one gets old and they are sick, there are not many things they can count on but they should be able to count on Social Security. Our seniors' retirement should never rely on the bull of political promises or the bear of the market.

We women are at risk, and that is why we want a guaranteed benefit, not a guaranteed gamble. We, the women, know the odds. We know that Social Security cannot be slot machine Social Security, that when one pulls the lever they get a lemon instead of three gold bars.

All of our lives we have been placed in the penalty box just because of who we are. We earn less money than men, and we often work at jobs less likely to have a pension. We are in and out of the marketplace because of family responsibilities. We live longer, and the consequences are when we retire we get less. Social Security is a great equalizer and we want to be out of the penalty box and be in a guaranteed benefit box.

Right now, even in the debate we are already getting ready to face discrimination. Chairman Thomas of the Ways and Means Committee said because women live longer, maybe our benefits should be reduced. That is outrageous. I thought we were all created equal under the Constitution, and we should all be treated equal under Social Security.

I am taking a position, along with my women Democratic colleagues, that we will not support a plan that does not provide a guaranteed, inflation-proof, lifelong benefit.

We, the Democratic women of the Senate, have certain criteria as this debate goes forward: Preserve Social Security's guaranteed lifetime inflation benefit; preserve Social Security for workers when they are disabled and for workers' spouses and children when they are disabled; and protect against the impoverishment of women by maintaining Social Security's benefit structure. Social Security provides a minimum floor against dire circumstances and that is part of the social insurance.

When we talk about a guaranteed benefit, not a guaranteed gamble, it is very clear why. Today we know our benefits are benefits we can count on. We do not have to worry about whether the stock market doing well. We do not have to worry about did we make investments, do we know bonds and stocks and indexes? What we do know is this is the guaranteed benefit. All other private savings, private pensions, are built around it. Social Security is the anchor tenet. Let us not eliminate it.

When we talk about why we need a lifetime benefit, I am concerned about the gimmicks and proposals that are being made now that people could outlive their savings. The great thing about Social Security is one cannot outlive Social Security. It is theirs until the day they die. One can outlive their IRA or their savings, but they can never outlive Social Security. This is an important anchor, particularly because we women live longer.

The plan must be inflation proof. Today, Social Security does not penalize for living longer. We women live longer and we need an adequate cost-of-living increase. When one retires in 2030, they cannot have an income that has been pegged at 1990. That is why it has to be inflation proof.

So we, the democratic women of the Senate, will not support any reform that takes us backward, instead of forward. We will use a checklist we developed to ensure that bad things do not happen to women and families in the name of improvements to Social Security. To have our support, any changes to Social Security must be able to answer these questions:

Does the plan preserve Social Security's guaranteed, lifetime, inflation-protected benefits?

Does the plan preserve Social Security's protections for workers when they are disabled, as well as when they retire, and for workers' spouses and children when workers are disabled, retire, or die?

Does the plan protect against impoverishment of women by maintaining Social Security's progressive benefit structure?

Does the plan strengthen the financing of the Social Security system while ensuring that women and other economically disadvantaged groups are protected to the greatest degree possible?

These principles are the promises of Social Security we will fight to protect. We must keep the ``security'' in Social Security. It must be a guaranteed benefit, not a guaranteed gamble.

Now let me talk about why these principles are so important and why privatization will specifically hurt women. This checklist is important because Social Security is the primary, or only, income for retired women, disabled workers and their families, working families in retirement who usually do not have access to a pension or other retirement and spouses of retired workers.

First, we need to preserve Social Security's, guaranteed, lifetime, inflation-proof benefits. The plan must be a guarantee. Today you know what your benefits are. You know what you can count on. It is guaranteed. We do not have to worry if the stock market is doing well. We do not have to worry if we invested wisely. We do not have to worry if our husbands planned well. We do not have to worry if we suddenly become disabled that we will also suddenly be poor. The benefit is there for us. It must be a guarantee. The plan must last for our whole lifetime.

People are terrified that they will outlive their savings. Any proposed plan must guarantee you cannot outlive your Social Security benefit. You can outlive your IRA. You can outlive your savings. But we must guarantee that you will never be able to outlive your Social Security. This is especially important for women. Women live longer than men. But you must never, ever be able to outlive your Social Security. You must know what your benefit is. It must keep pace with inflation. The plan must be inflation-proof.

Today Social Security also does not penalize you for living longer. Women live longer than men. Women need a plan with adequate cost-of-living increases. $800 a month in 2005 will not buy the same things in 2015.

Think about it: How does rent today compared to 10 years ago, and what will it be in 2005, 2025? We must have a guaranteed plan that protects against inflation.

Second, we need to preserve Social Security's protections for workers when they are disabled as well as when they retire, and for workers' spouses and children when workers are disabled, retire, or die.

Social Security guarantees that if you suddenly become disabled you will not also be suddenly poor. If a woman's husband dies, Social Security guarantees that there will be an income for her. If your spouse suddenly dies, Social Security guarantees that your children will be provided for.

Three million children in this country receive Social Security benefits because their parent was disabled or killed; 52,000 in my State of Maryland alone. We must be able to depend on these benefits. Honor your mother and father.

It is a great commandment to live by--and it is a great commandment to govern by not only as a commandment, but in the federal law books. Make sure it is in the federal checkbooks. Now, this is family values.

Third, we need to protect against impoverishment of women by maintaining Social Security's progressive benefit structure.

Social Security rewards work and recognizes that all work has value. Someone may work for minimum wage but make maximum effort. Social Security provides a minimum floor of protection to keep seniors out of destitution. Social Security has a progressive benefit structure. That means it protects women who work part-time to be a full-time mom. It protects stay-at-home moms who do not earn wages, though what they do is priceless. It protects women who work at minimum wage.

Social Security, with its progressive benefit structure, guarantees there will be enough benefit to live on, even though you may not have earned much while working. Though you may struggle to make ends meet now, the program will make sure you receive a benefit you can live on. Social Security makes sure you won't be poor.

Fourth, we need to strengthen the financing of the Social Security system while ensuring that women and other economically disadvantaged groups are protected to the greatest degree possible.

For many elderly women, Social Security is not a supplement to their income, it is their income. Compared to men, most women do not receive employer-provided pensions. One-third of women must rely solely on what they receive from Social Security. When you are old and when you are sick, there are not many things you can count on, but you should be able to count on Social Security.

Social Security is more than a safety net. It is a life boat. We need to make sure more senior women and all low-income workers get the benefit of the safety net, and share the life boat. To the people of Maryland, I am on your side. For today and tomorrow, I am going to fight for you to have a benefit that you can count on. In my state, 732,000 people receive Social Security benefits, including nearly 400,000 women. They all need a guaranteed benefit, not a guaranteed gamble.

Without Social Security, almost half of elderly women in Maryland would be poor. Honor your mother and father? We need to protect them and the whole family. We often forget how Social Security protects children. There are 52,000 children in Maryland who depend on Social Security. That means that something happened to one of their parents. They either died or became disabled. We must keep our promise to protect our children. We cannot gamble their future. Now this is a family value. What will privatization cost Americans?

Another big issue for our children is the debt that privatization will create, not just for us, but our children, our grandchildren, and their children.

The transition to a private account system will cost trillions of dollars--yes, trillions of dollars--trillions of dollars that we will have to borrow from another country.

This will cause higher interest rates for our mortgages, our credit cards, our cars, our student loans.

Privatization will squeeze our federal budget even tighter. It will lead to higher taxes on everyone, and cuts in the funding for essential Federal programs besides Social Security, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

This will be bad for the economy, bad for family budgets, and bad for future generations. This is not the legacy we want to leave to our children and grandchildren. Why must we prevent privatization?

Now let me repeat why privatization is bad for America. Privatization will replace the security of a guaranteed check for a guaranteed gamble. Privatization will eliminate the dependability and predictability of seniors income. Privatization will not be inflation protected so year after year seniors incomes will go down. Privatization will eliminate guaranteed survivor benefits for widows.

Our seniors would have to give all this up for the hope that every single one of them will successfully invest in the stock market. We know how unpredictable and brutal the stock market can be. We cannot place the security of our senior citizens in the private market. They deserve better. They have been promised more. I am here to say we are going to live up to those promises.

We are not going to go back to a time when elderly poverty was commonplace and accepted. We need to strengthen Social Security and improve it. How? By not playing politics, by not being ideological, by working together, by being bipartisan, and doing what is right for America. I am prepared to do that. Democrats are prepared to do that.

We did it last time Social Security faced problems. I worked with President Reagan on Social Security. He created a climate of civility and respect. We all worked together, across the aisle stabilized the Social Security program.

We need to make some changes in the Social Security program, but only modest changes to strengthen the program, not gut it, not gambling with our seniors.

President Bush should follow the Reagan Social Security model, seek responsible changes to Social Security, work with Democrats, do what is right for our seniors, and do what is right for America.

I will join him.

I know the Democrats will, too.

There are colleagues on the floor and I want to yield so they have the time to talk. There are many more things on which I am going to elaborate, such as how this privatization will increase debt, how it will cause rising interest rates, how this foolhardy plan is based on a model that we are taking from the Government of Chile. I respect the people of Latin America, but their pension program has gone bust. This is not what the United States of America should be.

So when I cast my vote, I want to vote for the stability of a social contract that has a guaranteed lifetime benefit. I will not vote for something that is a gamble and then puts us in the wheel of misfortune. I am deeply concerned that if we pursue some of the recommendations that are being made, we will have lower benefits, we will have rising interest rates, and we will have instability in both the market, in pensions, and in Social Security.

What is the wheel of misfortune we could end up with? People could end up outliving their savings. They could end up disabled and broke. Social Security could lead to poverty rather than a minimum floor. It could be that there has been a market crash and people could never retire and while that is going on interest rates go sky high.

I remember a time in the late 1970s and early 1980s when one could not get a mortgage for less than 15 percent. If one got a home equity loan at 10 percent, they thought they had died and gone to heaven. Car insurance was at 22 percent. Credit cards were at 24 percent. We do not want to ever go there.

I worked with Ronald Reagan to stabilize Social Security in 1983. I want to work with George Bush in 2005. But I will vote for a guaranteed benefit, not a guaranteed gamble. And I would never want to have Social Security just turn to the wheel of misfortune.

I note that my colleagues are in the Chamber, and I now yield 10 minutes to the Senator from Washington.

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