Joe's Statement on 75th Anniversary of Social Security

Statement

This Saturday marks the 75th anniversary of the passage of the Social Security Act. Joe released the following statement to commemorate this milestone:

"Three quarters of a century ago, our nation made a commitment to stand with our seniors," said Joe. "Today, almost 60 million Americans depend on Social Security benefits or Supplemental Security Income. Congressman Toomey wants to endanger Social Security by gambling the savings of our seniors on Wall Street. This would be a windfall for Wall Street banks, which would rake in enormous fees, but could be disastrous for Pennsylvania's seniors who spent their lives paying into the system. We owe it to future generations to preserve -- not privatize -- this legacy."

Joe supports efforts to credit Social Security revenue to the Trust Fund, which has been created to preserve the funding for its intended purpose, rather than the General Fund, which allows the resources to be used in other ways. He would establish a Social Security "Lock Box" policy, which would prevent diversion of funds from Social Security for other programs.

Meanwhile, Congressman Toomey has called for portions of the Social Security system to be placed in the hands of for-profit banks and investors. Under Toomey's plan, workers would maintain investment accounts on Wall Street instead of paying into the trust fund, exposing our nation's retirement savings to the risks of the market. [Morning Call, 08/28/02]

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