Richard Gephardt: “I rise to urge a free and fair debate on this floor about the future of Social Security before the November elections…”

“I rise to urge a free and fair debate on this floor about the future of Social Security before the November elections occur. Here we are in October, nearing what will become the end of the 107th Congress, and we have yet to have a real debate about what perhaps is the most important issue facing the American people. We have a Republican leadership that wants to adjourn without debating one of the most serious concerns that people have about their own retirement. We have spent our time renaming post offices, we have done very well at that, and passing non-sense of the House resolutions, but we have had no time, not a moment, to debate the Republican plan to privatize Social Security and cut Social Security benefits. The Republican strategy is clear. It is deception. The Republican leadership from the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert) to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey) to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) all are on record in strong support of privatization. They support cutting benefits and taking funds that should be secure and putting them into risky stock market accounts. I think it is vital that we have this debate before the November elections and not afterwards when it will probably be too late. We are not talking about an academic exercise here. We are not talking about theories or philosophies. We are talking about people's lives and what happens to them every day of every month.”