House Democrats are going to force their Republican colleagues to vote on a resolution opposing the privatization of Social Security. The move shows Democrats are putting their full political muscle into painting the Republicans as enemies of Social Security and using the chief GOP budget writer Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to cut benefits as evidence.
Rep. John Larson (D-CT) and Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) this afternoon introduced the resolution which “expresses the will of House Democrats to preserve Social Security and reaffirms our commitment to working in a bipartisan way to make common sense adjustments to strengthen the program for generations to come.”
It’s the sort of tough political vote that Democrats have rarely pushed Republicans on since winning back control of Congress in 2006, and similar to resolutions the GOP constantly forced the Democrats to take positions on when they were in power.
The resolution – which has not yet been scheduled for a House floor vote but has more than 20 original co-sponsors – is the latest salvo in the new fight over Social Security.
Democrats say Ryan’s “roadmap” that we’ve been writing about proves the GOP is “dusting off their old playbook” and the majority party fully intends to make this a midterm election battle.
“Republicans are dusting off their old playbook and re-hashing old ideas like the privatization of Social Security that the American people have already rejected,” Larson said in a statement. “Their ideas would end the program as we know it and put the retirement security of millions of America’s seniors and workers at risk. My colleagues and I introduced this resolution to show the American people that we are standing with them and against these destructive ideas.”
Sanchez added, “Americans have not forgotten the dangers of tying their retirement security to the whims of Wall Street. It was a bad idea then, and it is a bad idea now. This resolution supports Americans who contribute all their working life to a retirement and want income security in their golden years.”
Among the highlights in the resolution (read it in full here):
The American people made clear in 2005 that they did not seek severe change in Social Security when they resoundingly rejected President Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security in favor or preserving a secure guaranteed foundation of retirement income free from risks and losses of the stock market.
The Current minority party plan for Social Security is even more extreme than the plan they advanced in 2005.
…
Resolved, That the Congress should stand with the American people to reject severe changes to Social Security, including any and all attempts to privatize Social Security, and instead should commit to work bipartisanly to make common-sense adjustments to Social Security to strengthen it for future generations while preserving its guarantees of secure income and family protection in the event of a worker’s death, retirement, or severe disability.
