Connecticut Republicans in Middle of Social Security Debate
By Emily Beaver
WASHINGTON, March 24 -The AFL-CIO and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, one its largest affiliates, have been leaving voice mails for Connecticut residents in the 4 th and 5 th districts, urging them to ask their congressional representatives to oppose the White House plan to “privatize” Social Security.
Meanwhile, a Progress for America television ad running in the 2 nd District shows the Social Security program careening into bankruptcy. The ad instructs residents to contact their representative to “help President Bush save Social Security.”
“It’s just like the middle of a campaign,” Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-5 th District, said at the National Press Club in March. “I’ve gotten two calls to my own home telling me to call myself.”
Neither Johnson nor Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4 th District, has publicly supported any proposal “privatizing” Social Security, but both have said that individual savings accounts may provide benefits for future generations. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2 nd District, said he has opposed “privatizing” Social Security but that since he first ran for Congress in 2000 he has supported individual accounts as a “second tier” of retirement security.
“Both sides are pressing vulnerable candidates,” said Jeffrey Ladewig, an American politics professor at the University of Connecticut. “Bush is pressing vulnerable Democrats and these interest groups are pressing vulnerable Republicans.”
Simmons, Johnson and Shays and were all named “mavericks” by National Journal magazine in February, ranking them among the 10 most liberal-voting House Republicans.
These moderate Republicans, who fill the majority of House seats in Connecticut, could be key players in passing measures to overhaul Social Security, Ladewig said.
Republicans do not have enough support in Congress to pass measures that would overhaul Social Security, so they will have to compromise with Democrats, Ladewig said.
“As a moderate Republican, Simmons is well-suited to lead a compromise,” he said.
AARP, an interest group representing people aged 50 and older, is confident it can convince Connecticut Republicans to preserve Social Security without resorting to a system of private accounts, said John Erlingheuser, AARP Connecticut associate state director of advocacy.
Erlingheuser, who coordinates meetings between AARP volunteers and members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation, said no Democrats support private accounts, but some Republicans have indicated support for accounts as an “add-on” to the program.
“It’s a mixed bag in Connecticut,” Erlingheuser said.
In March, Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joe Lieberman signed a letter along with 40 other Senate Democrats urging President Bush not to use Social Security dollars to fund private accounts. However, investment accounts separate from Social Security deserve “serious consideration,” if they do not put benefits at risk, the letter said.
Establishing personal savings accounts is a “viable and responsible solution” to the challenge of preserving Social Security for future generations, Shays said after the president’s State of the Union address in February.
However, in a March statement, Shays said he is reserving judgment on a Social Security overhaul until more details are available. He scheduled Social Security town hall meetings on April 2 and 3 with AARP President Marie Smith and Jim Lockhart, deputy administrator of the Social Security Administration.
“Add-on” accounts are a likely compromise in overhauling Social Security, Ladewig said, adding that investment accounts “carved in” as a central fixture of the program have less chance of passing in Congress.
“Congress members are backing off, and it has dismal support,” he said. “It would be very electorally risky for members to vote for a plan for that.”
Groups on both sides of the issue, such as the AARP and the conservative advocacy organization Progress for America, which supports personal accounts, have launched national advertising campaigns to get their message out.
Bush has held town hall meetings of his own to rally public support for his proposal. He began touring states immediately after his State of the Union speech and has visited almost two dozen states and initiated a “60 stops in 60 days” tour for administration officials to tout his Social Security ideas.
Keith Miller, an economic policy adviser from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, said creating ownership is a driving principle behind a Social Security system with personal accounts.
Miller said investing in personal accounts would not be as risky as critics claim because individuals could choose from “good, conservative” stocks and bonds selected by the Social Security Administration.
“You couldn’t just take your account and buy all shares of Enron or all shares of Wal-Mart,” he said. “The only significant risk to the system would be if the entire economy entirely collapsed . and then Social Security wouldn’t be your biggest problem.”
While some Republicans have criticized Democrats for opposing individual accounts and not proposing another solution to the problem, Democrats do have a plan: traditional Social Security, with some minor adjustments, said Barbara Kennelly, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
“Democrats aren’t going to sit at the table [to negotiate] until they [Republicans] get personal accounts off the table,” the former Democratic Connecticut congresswoman said.
Rep. Johnson has said that she believes reform is possible but that reforming Social Security “at a time when our debt is very high is hard, and maybe unwise.”
Most Democrats, including Sen. Dodd, have said the Social Security system needs to be strengthened, but not through individual accounts that may involve investing in stocks.
“What [seniors] don’t deserve, however, is a risky roll of the dice on Wall Street,” Dodd said in a statement after the State of the Union address. “The president shouldn’t monkey with a safety net for our seniors that for decades has provided them peace of mind in their twilight years.”
Boston University Washington News Service reporter Liz Goldberg also contributed to this story.
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