According to Reuters, "a top Republican lawmaker on Social Security issues on Sunday called the retirement system's finances a "problem" rather than a crisis, distancing himself from the crisis terminology used by the White House in seeking public support for private accounts.
'I think "problem" really is what we're dealing with,' House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas told NBC's "Meet the Press," when asked if he agreed with the assessment of President Bush and other top administration officials that the system was in 'crisis.'
In a sign of trouble for Bush in the Senate, moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine questioned his proposals and strategy.
While she said she does not object to personal savings accounts "per se," Snowe told CNN: "I'm certainly not going to support diverting $2 trillion from Social Security into creating personal savings accounts."
A member of the Finance Committee, which will craft any Social Security legislation in the Senate, Snowe complained that the 'public discussion thus far, without a specific proposal, has created and enhanced a lot of confusion and fear among seniors.'"
Sunday, January 23, 2005
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