Jim Bunning: “I rise today to make my maiden speech on the floor of the Senate. It is about a subject near and dear to me, protecting…”

“I rise today to make my maiden speech on the floor of the Senate. It is about a subject near and dear to me, protecting and strengthening Social Security for this generation and the next. In the other body, I served on the Social Security Subcommittee for 8 years. Over the last 4 years, I had the privilege of being the chairman. It was the most satisfying task I have had since coming to the Congress. In the subcommittee, we held numerous hearings over the past several years on Social Security reform and how to tackle the looming problem that will be facing us in the next century. I have already introduced my own personal Social Security reform bill. It is called The Social Security for the 21st Century Act. Basically, Social Security reform is a two-sided coin. The first side of the coin is that we must guarantee the benefits that have been promised our older workers, workers who have paid into the program for years. We must assure them that their investment is safe and their benefits will always be there when they are needed. The second side of the coin is that we have to find a way to give younger workers a reason to believe in the program, a reason to believe that they will get a reasonable rate of return on the money they invest in Social Security taxes throughout their working careers. My bill focuses primarily on the second side of the coin.”