American Newspapers Not Buying Congressional Republican Social Security Plan

AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS NOT BUYING CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICAN SOCIAL SECURITY PLAN -- (House of Representatives - July 12, 2005)

(Mr. MELANCON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, America's editorial boards, both liberal and conservative, were not fooled by the Congressional Republican Social Security proposal unveiled this past month. The Republican plan would create private accounts out of the money now going into the Social Security trust fund.

The Baltimore Sun called the plan ``the worst plan yet.'' While the Minneapolis Star-Tribune said, ``It is so weird and ill-conceived that it wouldn't merit comment, except that prominent GOP lawmakers have rallied around it.'' USA Today examined the plan and concluded, ``for every one part substance, the plan contains nine parts gimmick.'' While the New York Times wrote that the plan abandons ``efforts to restore solvency in order to resuscitate those doomed, unwanted, unwise private accounts.'' Finally, the Roanoke Times and World News opined, ``Republicans touting the plan say it will stop the `raid' on the Social Security trust fund. But if they wish to identify those perpetrating that `raid' for the last 4 years, they need only look in a very large mirror.''

Mr. Speaker, Republicans are no longer fooling anyone. It is time that they take privatization off the table.

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