Frank Pallone: “President Bush says the transition cost for his Social Security plan will cost about $700 billion in the first year, but…”

“President Bush says the transition cost for his Social Security plan will cost about $700 billion in the first year, but can Members believe him? Let us look at the President's record on estimating costs for his programs. Two years ago he promised his Medicare prescription drug bill would cost from 300 to 400 billion over 10 years. This week the President was forced to admit that it now will cost more than $1.2 trillion. That is four times what he said when he was lobbying my colleagues to vote for the Medicare prescription drug bill a couple of years ago. Now the President wants the American people to believe his Social Security privatization plan will only cost $700 billion in the first year, but other estimates have it at nearly $2 trillion in the first year to transition to his privatization plan. The President, Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, has proven time and time again that he simply cannot estimate the cost of his programs; and we simply cannot afford to buy into his risky Social Security privatization bill. It is going to cost a lot more. It is going to cut benefits, and it is a risky privatization plan.”