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Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Washington's Eighth District:
"I fully support the move toward individually-owned investment accounts. The extent to which the creation of these accounts will completely negate the need for some payroll tax to underwrite the cost of a minimum benefit system remains unclear.
"Widows and single working moms who are consumed with meeting the day-to-day needs of their children, all too often find that saving for retirement is a luxury they cannot afford. By investing their Social Security taxes in a personal account, these women could create a "nest egg" of their own that would not only make them more secure during retirement, but would also enable them to pass on any remaining savings to their children."
Rep. David Wu, D-Oregon's First District:
"Saving Social Security is a top priority for my service in Congress. With several years of potential budget surpluses, we have a wonderful opportunity to preserve Social Security and protect the retirement of this generation of seniors, as well as future generations.
"My plan to save Social Security is based on three core principles.
- Priorities: Use the budget surpluses to save Social Security.
- CarefulPlanning: Oppose efforts to privatize Social Security, which would subject retirement benefits to the roller-coaster nature of the stock market, and endanger the security of seniors.
- Fiscal Responsibility: Maintain a balanced budget. Social Security will prosper in the long term if our economy continues to prosper. We must promote economic growth by investing in education, research, and encouraging saving.
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon's Second District:
"As a member of the "baby boom" generation, I recognize both the opportunities and the risks we collectively represent for the future of Social Security. Although the increased cost to Social Security caused by the baby boomers' retirement is well-documented, we also have the opportunity, because of historic budget surpluses and good economic times, to strengthen Social Security and ensure its existence for our children and grandchildren. While ensuring the survival of Social Security well into the future, we must also safeguard the system for our parents, who are already, or soon will be, receiving retirement benefits. By using the budget surplus to pay down the federal government's $5.6 trillion national debt, we can free Social Security from future insolvency, protect benefits now and in the near future, and make a downpayment on retirement security for generations to come.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon's Third District:
"I oppose privatization of the Social Security system.
"Former Social Security Commissioner Robert Ball and some other members of a federal Advisory Council on Social Security proposed a "maintain benefits" fix that makes modest changes to the existing program and guarantees benefits well into the next century at close to current levels. They also recommended allowing a small portion of the Trust Funds to be diversified into some kind of market funds (not unlike Oregon's PERS program) to increase returns and provide income to pay future benefits. It's a position I've long advocated."
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon's Fourth District:
"Protecting Social Security is perhaps the highest priority of this Congress. The longer we put off a solution the harder and more painful it will be. We should dedicate the budget surplus to protecting the integrity of the Social Security trust fund rather than fueling spending or revenue adjustments that are not sustainable. I'm confident that before we finish the process there will be more options for average Americans to invest in their future retirement and security."
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Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Oregon's Fifth District:
"I am concerned that investing all of our Social Security funds in the stock market would be too risky. Although the market has reached record highs recently, we know that it will hit periodic lows as well. We must ensure that Social Security remains a guaranteed safety net for senior citizens, many who would live in poverty without it.
"Although I would never support plans to invest large portions of the Social Security trust fund in the stock market, I am open to looking at proposals that would invest a small portion of the Social Security trust fund - as many state and local pension programs do - in an effort to diversify the trust fund's sources of income and prolong the vitality of this important program. I feel strongly that any plan to privatize even a fraction of Social Security should call for a government oversight board to take those investments out of the political process."
Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Oregon:
"I hope that we can join with the President in finding a way to save Social Security - to join the next generation with the aging generation, to make sure that no one's taxes are raised and no one's benefits are cut."
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon:
"The challenge of Social Security reform is twofold:
- to protect the safety net so that a 77 year-old woman with Alzheimer's and a large prescription will have enough to live on and,
- to adopt new policies that empower young people with the ability to earn a higher yield on their investments.
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho:
"We have a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to safeguard and improve the retirement security of our seniors and the economic security of today's workers and our children. The Social Security surpluses projected for the next few years should be used to save and modernize the system. The benefits of today's seniors will be completely protected. Today's younger workers can and should be given some degree of ownership of their retirement accounts.
"Workers should have the option of real investments with significantly better rates of return than the current system of federal IOUs. We can modernize Social Security and make sure we have a strong safety net for the less fortunate. There are a lot of innovative ideas out there. My priority is to look at the best, constructive, creative, new ideas and build a strong, financially sound system for the future."
Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Washington:
"I believe that all government surpluses must be used to guarantee the stability of the Social Security system so that everyone relying on Social Security now, and everyone working and paying into the system now, will be able to count on Social Security without any cuts.
"The President has said he wants to save Social Security, but in fact his budget proposes to spend billions of dollars over and above the Balanced Budget Agreement. Every one of those dollars will inevitably come out of the surplus I'm convinced we need to preserve. That's wrong.
"We must use all of the Social Security and other surpluses to make entirely certain that the current generation and at least the next generation have Social Security. We cannot play smoke and mirrors with the Social Security Trust Fund."
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