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Cramer Not Backing Social Security Plan

Date: Jan. 13, 2005
Location: Huntsville, AL
Issues: Senior Citizens Entitlements and the Safety Net


JANUARY 13, 2005

Huntsville Times

Cramer not backing Social Security plan
Democrat wants more 'substance,' questions threat

By SHELBY G. SPIRES
Times Staff Writer shelbys@htimes.com

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer said Wednesday he can offer advice to the White House on overhauling Social Security, but not his support in Congress.

"I do not support (Bush's Social Security plan) in its current form at all, and I would have to see a lot of details to convince me," Cramer said during an interview in Huntsville. "There's not enough substance to the White House's proposal that would show how this will work."

President Bush wants to shift part of the money workers pay in Social Security taxes into privately managed investments.

Cramer, D-Huntsville, won't rule out working with the Bush administration on the issue, but cautioned that it would have to be a different plan.

Change for change's sake may be the wrong approach, Cramer said. "People are scared by this, and I don't see a reason to change it because there is no immediate threat to it," he said. "There are other priorities, including war and deficits, to deal with."

Social Security is expected to remain stable until the early 2040s, but Bush said the program needs to be reworked now.

Cramer was part of a meeting with Bush at the White House last week. Social Security was raised, Cramer said, but "the details weren't discussed."

Cramer said the current version of Bush's Social Security plan is not well-defined and doesn't address future benefit concerns.

"Who knows where it will go at this point," Cramer said. "It's not well laid out. Questions have to be answered before there will be support for this from many members" of Congress.

In particular, Cramer is concerned how changes would affect current retirees, and what the White House would cut in federal spending or raise in taxes if the stock markets crashed.

"I think how this is going to work over time is most important," he said, "and that's just not there yet."

http://cramer.house.gov/HoR/AL05/News/Bud+In+the+News/2005/1-13-05+Cramer+not+backing+Social+Security+plan.htm

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