Lynn C. Woolsey: “Mr. Speaker, soon President Bush will unveil the details of his program to cut Social Security. We already know…”

“Mr. Speaker, soon President Bush will unveil the details of his program to cut Social Security. We already know, however, that the President aims to dismantle a program that has been historically successful in our country and incredibly important to the well-being and financial security of women. Women make up the majority of Social Security beneficiaries and are less likely than men to receive pensions or have retirement savings. Women are more apt to live on just Social Security. More than 24 million women receive Social Security benefits, and if these benefits were to be taken away, the result would be nearly 60 percent of senior women would be living in poverty. I shudder to think of the possible consequences of breaking apart the strongest social safety net that we have. Social Security helps to ensure equal footing for women in retirement by using a progressive benefit formula that proportionately pays a greater benefit to those who earn less. Women earn only 77 percent on the dollar compared to their male counterparts and spend less time in the workforce, putting them at an immediate disadvantage for saving. Women who work hard providing for their families, who leave the workforce to raise children should not be penalized in later years for time outside of the workforce when they were not able to add to their private accounts.”