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Congressional Corner: Representative Walter Jones Introduces Social Security Guarantee Act `Congress has a duty to our seniors to ensure their retirement security will not be jeopardized.` `Many Americans have paid Social Security taxes over their working lifetimes and are planning for retirement with the expectation that they will receive these Social Security benefits,` said Jones. `However, the reality is that at any time, Congress could eliminate or reduce those benefits in the name of Social Security reform. That is just wrong. By introducing this legislation, we hope to eliminate the use of senior-scare-tactics that have doomed Social Security reform prospects in the past.` `Promising Social Security benefits is the `moral` equivalent of issuing a US government Treasury bond,` added Jones. `When the government borrows money from individuals or financial institutions, it gives them a bond in return that promises to repay the money at a specific rate of interest. Social Security beneficiaries have no such guarantee to their benefits and need this legislation to help ensure they will receive the benefits they are entitled to.` `I believe this is an important first step toward meaningful Social Security reform. We as members of Congress have a duty to our seniors to ensure their retirement security will not be jeopardized.` The bill will first be considered by the Social Security Subcommittee under the jurisdiction of the House Ways and Means Committee. It has been endorsed by TREA Senior Citizens League. This article first appeared in Volume 6, Issue 6 of "The Social Security and Medicare Advisor" newsletter (May/2001). To receive future editions of "The Advisor" in its special, free e-mail version, please click here. | ||||||||
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Representative Walter B. Jones (R-3-NC) has introduced H.R. 832, the `Social Security Guarantee Act` for consideration in the 107th Congress. The bill when passed, would require the Secretary of the Treasury to issue to each recipient of Social Security retirement benefits, a certificate that includes a written guarantee of a fixed monthly benefit plus a guaranteed annual cost-of-living increase. It would also eliminate concerns over benefit reduction by seeking to give seniors a property right to their retirement benefits. 