Category: Courtney Paquette
Debate on Social Security Likely Tonight
WASHINGTON 10/8/04- One of the issues that is likely to come up during the final presidential debate which focuses on domestic topics is the future of the Social Security system, a subject in which both of New Hampshire’s senators have a keen interest.
Social Security reform is also a subject in which there are sharp differences between the two presidential candidates. President George Bush has not proposed specific Social Security reform, but has said he supports the creation of personal retirement accounts. Sen. John Kerry opposes privatization of any kind for the Social Security system.
Many have suggested the Social Security system faces an imminent crisis but several policy experts interviewed for the article agreed that the system will be able to deliver benefits to current retirees for the next decade or so without problem. However, they say that reform in the coming years will be essential to ensure that younger workers receive benefits from the system when they are ready to retire.
“To call this a crisis is a little bit like saying your roof is going to blow off in 40 years. It may not be a problem for you or your children, but certainly will be a problem for the person 40 years down the road,” said Gary Burtless of the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning think tank in Washington.
Current Social Security recipients’ benefits are paid from the payroll taxes taken from the wages of working Americans. According to the Social Security Administration 2004 Trustees Report tax revenues will fall below program costs in 2018, meaning not enough people will be working and contributing taxes to cover the number of people who are retiring.
At this point, benefits could continue to be paid from the Trust Fund, the fund in which surplus from payroll taxes is collected, until 2042. But this isn’t a fund in the sense that money is kept untouched for future generations. Currently the surplus raised from the tax is spent like any other tax, on government programs, and replaced by Treasury bonds.
Two of the most vocal proponents for Social Security reform have been New Hampshire’s senators, Judd Gregg and John Sununu. Gregg, in 1999, sponsored the Bipartisan 21 st Century Retirement Security Act, which proposed allowing two percentage points of the current 12.4 percent payroll tax to finance personal retirement accounts. He reintroduced the measure last session but no action was taken on the bill.
A month ago, Sununu introduced the Social Security Savings Act, which would allow for 10 percentage points of the payroll tax on the first $10,000 of wages each year to be contributed to a personal retirement account. On wages above that, 5 percentage points could be shifted into the accounts. The plan is voluntary and people have the option of staying in the existing system. The plan has been ranked by the chief actuary of Social Security as achieving permanent solvency for the program.
Gregg said that though current retirees have nothing to worry about, the system is headed for a dramatic crisis, and those who are contributing to the system today will pay more than they ever get back if something is not done.
He said he has found that younger people, those under the age of 40, have been receptive to the idea of personal retirement accounts.
“People understand you can take some portion of the (payroll) tax and save it,” said Gregg. “It will be their money and they will own the fund it is invested in.”
Both Sununu’s and Gregg’s plans call for investment in funds that are regulated by the government for safety and soundness.
Sununu said that the long term returns on these investments has been steady through the years, and said every major poll he is familiar with has shown broad support for allowing workers to devote some of the tax to private savings accounts.
David John, of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, said Sununu’s plan has one of the best administrative structures he’s seen.
“The structure provides a simple, low-cost structure for these accounts,” said John. “The worker would get the maximum value for their money. It doesn’t allow gambling and provides some real retirement.”
But one of the issues with the transition to personal retirement accounts, experts agree, is the short-term cost.
According to Burtless, the problem with allowing personal retirement accounts is faced in funding current Social Security recipients. If money is withdrawn from the system, someone has to make contributions or pay taxes that cover the existing system liability.
“If you’re going to have these individual retirement accounts, you still have to pay into the promise for people who are already retiring,” said Burtless.
Evelyn Morton, national coordinator for economic issues for AARP, said the organization does not support taking money from the payroll tax to finance private accounts. She said she has found that people’s initial reaction to the idea of private savings accounts is positive, but said they should be wary of transition costs.
“What they don’t understand is that in order to finance these accounts, there’s a transition,” said Morton. “If you’re 49 years old, you’re not going to have as long to build up your account as a 25-year-old.”
John said that if a system of personal retirement accounts is established, the additional money needed to pay retirees will be needed sooner than it is under the existing system, but the total amount that would be needed in decades to come would be significantly less.
Sununu’s plan allows the prior contribution of those under 55 who opt for personal retirement accounts to be credited to future benefits. After the transition period workers would continue to pay a small amount into the trust fund to pay for disability and survivor benefits and guarantee minimum benefits.
“The proposal we’ve put forward ensures long-term solvency for Social Security,” said Sununu. “To say that it [his plan] is expensive. is ridiculous.”
Opponents of creating personal retirement accounts say that taking money out of the existing system and putting it into private accounts makes the solvency issue worse.
“Social Security is becoming the only thing you can count on,” said Barbara Kennelly, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. “The truth of the matter is everyone has 401Ks and we already have the ability to save and invest if we want.”
Despite disagreement over whether personal retirement accounts are the right answer, most people admit changes must be made to insure the Social Security system’s future solvency.
Celsius Warms Republicans Hearts
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 - Coming soon to a theater near you: the conservative response to Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11."
"Celsius 41.11, The Temperature at which the Brain Begins to Die" premiered Tuesday night in Georgetown to an invitation-only audience of more than 100 moviegoers who, clad in suits and cocktail dresses, gave the 80-minute film a standing ovation, complete with hoots and whistles.
"The country was ready for an answer to 'Fahrenheit 9/11'," said Charles Krauthammer, a Washington Post columnist who appears several times in the film, "and it got it."
The film, produced by Citizens United, a conservative lobby group in Washington, opened with and is dominated by images of 9/11, all set to the backdrop of the song, "Do you believe in anything strong enough."
"After seeing the impact of 'Fahrenheit 9/11' we decided that there must be a response to correct the record," David Bossie, president of Citizens United and former chief investigator for the House Committee on Government Reform, said in a press release.
The film is divided into two parts. In the first, prominent conservatives such as former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), Krauthammer and terrorist expert and Fox News analyst Mansoor Ijaz, rebut five justifications for being a "Bush-hater": President Bush stole the 2000 election, he didn't do enough to stop 9/11, the Patriot Act robs Americans of civil liberties, Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and he has a worldview that promotes hatred in the Middle East.
The second part is dominated by clips from John F. Kerry's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. The flip-flop theme is prevalent, as clips from his speech are juxtaposed with his Senate speeches and speeches he gave when he returned from Vietnam.
The filmmakers use scenes of violence in Iraq that include dead Iraqi civilians and the recent series of beheadings to draw a contrast between what they say is Kerry's lack of decisiveness in foreign policy and what they call Bush's decisive pre-emptive foreign policy.
The film was made in six weeks, and no one who appears in the movie saw it before its premiere Tuesday night. Washington lawyer Victoria Toensing, who discusses the Patriot Act in the film, said that her segments were filmed in August, as were many others, highlighting the rushed nature of the film's creation.
Summer Stitz, press secretary for Citizens United, said the group was currently negotiating where and when the movie would play but expected it would play in major markets across the United States. She said she would probably know the details by the end of this week.
Tuesday night's crowd left the theater all smiles and with a sense that they had something to combat Moore's film.
"I thought it really needed to be said," said Caitlin McQuilling, 19, an intern with Citizens United and a freshman at Georgetown University. "There has to be a dialogue, a political debate, to take the focus off Michael Moore."
Angels in Adoption
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 -- The awards dinner Thursday night was a special occasion for Carla Boudreau of Milford and Allyson Schaaf of Stratham. They were with their husbands in Washington to receive Angel in Adoption awards for their work in adopting children from Romania.
It reminded them of another special occasion.
Seven months ago, they met with Romanian Ambassador Sorin Ducaru to enlist his support in bringing the girls they had adopted, who had been barred by a new Romanian law from leaving the country, to New Hampshire. The day before had been his birthday, so they took him a present.
"Here is a rose from our daughters in Romania," Schaaf said she told him, "wishing you a happy birthday."
The following evening, the two were at a reception at the ambassador's home. As they walked into the dining room, they said they noticed only one decoration at the front of the room: a vase holding two roses.
Schaaf said she tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the roses. He picked up his hand and touched his heart.
A law enacted by the Romanian government in June 2004, prohibiting adoption of Romanian children by anyone outside of the country except grandparents, has so far barred Alexandra and Natasha, the girls adopted by Boudreau and Schaaf, respectively, from leaving Romania.
But the fight to bring them to New Hampshire has touched the hearts of everyone from Romanian executives, to Rep. Jeb Bradley, to President George Bush. Their encouragement and help, said the two women, has given them hope that one day they will bring their daughters home.
"Just like a pregnant mom bonds with her baby, we've already bonded with and love our daughters," said Schaaf. "We will continue to work towards this until they come home."
Schaaf's first experience with the Romanian adoption system gave her reason to believe adopting Natasha would be easy. She took her first trip to Romania in 1999 to volunteer at an orphanage in Bucharest. The experience encouraged her and her husband Michael to adopt Iain, now 4. She said it was an easy adoption, and they had him within seven months.
Boudreau met Schaaf while working at a pharmaceutical company. Schaaf's experience encouraged Boudreau and her husband, Todd, to try adoption. But the Carla and Todd's adoption of Hunter, now 3, was more complicated.
Romania, in an effort to reform an adoption system that had become subject to child trafficking, placed a moratorium on all adoptions in 2002. The moratorium was part of a reform effort that Romania undertook in order to gain acceptance into the European Union. Hunter came home to New Hampshire two years after they adopted him.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, since 2002, 5, 233 Romanian children have been adopted by families in the United States. There are more than 200 families waiting for children they have adopted from Romania.
Families like the Boudreaus and Schaafs, who adopted the girls prior to this year's ban, are told there is still a chance they will be able to bring their children home.
Asked to talk about Hunter and Iain, the Boudreaus and the Schaafs immediately start laughing.
"You would think they were brothers," said Schaaf, noting that not only did they look alike - brown hair, deep brown eyes, big smiles-but they love spending time together.
Schaaf said that often times, when she was on the phone with Boudreau, Iain would tug at shirt and say he needed to talk to Hunter.
The two women agreed that the joy the boys brought their families was a major reason they are not giving up on the girls.
"First and foremost, when we meet people from Romania, we (let) them know how thankful we are for the gifts they have given us," said Boudreau.
The Boudreaus and the Schaafs and many who have worked with them on the cause, said it was important to work with Romania to spread the positive benefits of adoption.
"Romania needs people standing with them and not against them," said Elaine MacEwen, executive director of the Nobody's Children Foundation, a non-profit which provides assistance to children.
MacEwen and her husband have two sons from Romania, Jonathan, 13, and Matthew, 11.
Congressman Jeb Bradley, who the Boudreaus and the Schaafs said has been instrumental in gaining support for their cause, said he understood the difficult position the Romanian government was in.
Bradley, who nominated the two women for the award, said that the attitude they have maintained through the obstacles they have faced made them an easy choice. Each year, members of Congress can nominate two people from their state for the award, presented by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.
Each year, each member of Congress can nominate two people from his state for the award, which is presented by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.
"These are two incredibly strong people," said Bradley. "They don't get down."
MacEwen agreed and said, "(Schaaf's) an absolutely wonderful mother and under the greatest of negative circumstances, she has not given up," said MacEwan. "And I see the same sense of determination in Carla."
Determination is evident. As they flipped through the packets given out along with the awards, they didn't look for their own names. They looked for names of other people who could help them.
When they get home on Monday, Schaaf will hold a press conference with MacEwen to discuss their 29 point plan for adoption. In November, they will hold a fundraiser at the Castleton in Windham.
"We're just doing what any mom would do for their child," said Boudreau.
Shaheen Speaks at Youth Advocacy Day
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 - Former governor and current national chair of the Kerry campaign Jeanne Shaheen acted as Kerry's surrogate at the National Campaign for Youth Advocacy Day and fielded questions about topics ranging from Kerry's plans for lowering the high-school drop-out rate to ending poverty from teens and young adults from low-income communities.
Shaheen listened to the concerns of a panel of seven young adults, who represented the more than 300 teens and young adults who attended the conference, designed to give young voters the opportunity to address their concerns to the presidential candidates. Most of the participants were members of YouthBuild, a national non-profit organization that supports unemployed and uneducated young people between the ages of 16-24. Members earn their GED or high school diploma while learning construction skills by building affordable housing.
"Young people will make a difference in this race," Shaheen told the crowd, encouraging them to vote in the upcoming election.
Shaheen repeatedly stressed Kerry's support what she said would be full-funding of the No Child Left Behind Act which she said had been under-funded by $27 billion. She also stressed his support for a continuation of the Assault Weapons Ban, which expired Monday at midnight.
The panel posed the same questions to Marc Racicot, former Montana governor and current national chair of President George W. Bush's campaign.
Racicot stressed Bush's formation of the Disadvantaged Youth Task Force, created in 2002, to address the problems of disadvantaged youth.
The crowd was somewhat less-receptive to Racicot. At one point, two members of the audience rushed to microphone to relay their concerns.
"You talk about the war on terrorism," said Darnell Leacock, 22, of New York, "(while at home) you have failing grades, failing society structure."
Racicot encouraged the crowd to reexamine the republican party, telling the crowd he grew up in a family of democrats.
"Look at us, make a real, honest, factual inquiry," said Racicot. "I think you'll find (Bush is) making every effort to be relevant in your lives."
Sununu Nomicated to United Nations
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 -- When the United Nations opens its 59 th Session of the General Assembly Tuesday in New York, Sen. John E. Sununu will be in attendance.
Sununu was nominated by President George W. Bush Monday to be one of two representatives of the U.S. delegation to the Assembly. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) was the other nominee. Every year, two members of Congress, one Democrat and one Republican, are selected as Congressional delegates to the United Nations.
As a Congressional Delegate, Sununu will assist the U.S. delegation in promoting United States goals. The web site of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations says these goals are to combat trafficking of persons, advance economic freedom and ban human cloning. When Leahy served previously as a Congressional Delegate in 1994, he helped lay the groundwork for the eventual international treaty to ban the production, use and export of anti-personnel landmines, according to a press release from his office.
"The international community continues to face complex issues, and the UN remains an important organization to facilitate global cooperation," said Sununu in a press release. "This nomination is an honor, and I look forward to participating in the opening of the UN General Assembly next week."
Sununu's chairmanship of the Senate Subcommittee on International Operations and Terrorism, the subcommittee responsible for oversight of the many United Nations-related programs, is the main reason Foreign Relation Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN) recommended Sununu for the position, according to Foreign Relations Committee press secretary Andrew Fisher. The nominees are also generally members of the Foreign Relations Committee, of which Sununu is a member.
According to Fisher, Sununu was Lugar's first choice.
"(Sununu) is very active new member to the committee and has taken a deep interest in the UN," said Fisher.
Fisher said the Subcommittee on International Operations and Terrorism is responsible for oversight of the United Nations building itself, the construction of a new building and the security issues around the United Nations. He said that Sununu's position as a Congressional representative would complement his position as chairman of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Terrorism.
The nomination of congressional delegates alternates between the House and the Senate. Last year, Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) and Rep. Amo Houghton (R-NY) were delegates. Nominations are subject to approval by the Foreign Relations Committee, as well as the Senate. Fisher said such confirmations are a formality. Neither the Senate Foreign Relations Committee office, nor Sununu's office, knew when the confirmations would take place.
