GAO Official: No Crisis in Social Security

WASHINGTON -- Social Security “does not face an immediate crisis,'' the head of the Government Accountability Office said Wednesday, but it does face a long-term financing problem ``and it would be prudent to address it sooner rather than later,'' The Associated Press reported

David M. Walker, who heads the nonpartisan Office of Comptroller General, also criticized President Bush for undertaking an aggressive two-month tour to try to sell his plan for allowing younger workers to divert a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes into private investment accounts. Walker suggested that Bush and members of Congress focus on improving financing for the program, which would not be significantly affected by establishment of personal accounts.

The testimony launched formal debate, before the House Ways and Means Committee, on Capitol Hill over Bush's plan to overhaul the federal retirement plan that began as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's post-Depression era “New Deal.''

“I would have done it differently, I would have done it differently,'' Walker said, under aggressive questioning by Rep. Charles B. Rangel of New York, the top Democrat on the panel. In his opening statement, Rangel declared, “Private accounts will not be on the table if you are looking for bipartisanship.''

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 3/9/05