Frank Pallone: “last Friday, President Bush quickly stopped in on Westfield, New Jersey, to talk to a bunch of his supporters about his…”

“last Friday, President Bush quickly stopped in on Westfield, New Jersey, to talk to a bunch of his supporters about his Social Security privatization proposal. The Westfield, New Jersey, stop was part of a 6-week push to convince Americans that the Social Security program faces an immediate crisis. The President did not do as well as he wanted, and so now he has hired a couple of public relations experts to run a war room at the Social Security Administration. The administration is also beginning a 60-day push to convince voters that his privatization plan is the best thing for both seniors today and young people tomorrow. Mr. Speaker, President Bush has failed in convincing Americans that his plan is the way to go because he has even admitted that privatization does nothing to fix the solvency problem Social Security faces in the year 2052. As the President goes around the country pitching his privatization plan, he continues to exaggerate Social Security's current fiscal state. Last Friday in Westfield, he claimed, "The safety net has a hole in it," and he continues to say that the whole system goes broke in 2042. That is simply not true. Based on the most current estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Social Security is fully solvent until 2052, meaning that every benefit that has been promised to seniors, the disabled, and survivors can be paid through that year. Imagine that.…”