Grassley Pushing SS Phase-Out
The New York Times reports today on Chuck Grassley's stance on Social Security phase-out: we're going to push it, whether you like it or not.
The
Senate Finance Committee chairman, Charles E. Grassley, said Thursday
that he would try to produce a Social Security bill with the support of
Republicans alone, in an effort to jump-start a legislative effort now
stymied by solid Democratic opposition.
Mr. Grassley, whose committee will
play the lead role on Social Security, acknowledged that it was a risky
strategy and that he would need to attract some Democratic support once
the bill reached the full Senate, if not sooner. But he said, with some
frustration, that he had been unable to get the Democrats on his
committee to enter into negotiations unless he renounced President
Bush's proposal to create private investment accounts in Social
Security.
Mr. Grassley said he would not do
that. As a result, he said, “I'm going to put together a
Republican-only bill as a first step to getting bipartisan support
because I can't lose time waiting for the Democrats to come to the
table.”
What this means: Grassley will push a bill containing all of the
plans that are opposed by Democrats – and if the polls are to be
believed – the general public.
(From the Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll: “The president is more than halfway through a 60-day tour of the
nation to discuss his plans to add personal accounts to Social
Security, and already has made a stop in Cedar Rapids. But the latest
poll shows that just 26 percent of Iowans approve of his efforts to
change Social Security, while 65 percent disapprove.”)
It's pretty obvious by now that Grassley has no interest in
representing his constituents on this matter. Drop him a note or
give him a phone call. Sen. Grassley's contact information is
here: http://grassley.senate.gov
(Josh Marshall also posted about Sen. Grassley's recent statement.)
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