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December 6, 2004 NEWSLETTER
Greetings from Eileen Ryan:
Since Ken Moore sent you the last newsletter we have had changes within OFFSET/WINDFALL. When Ken and I started the organization we drifted towards different projects but always met to share our activities and future plans. Although I would frequently share information with him it was Ken that put everything together for our monthly newsletters. For the last two years as Ken became more discouraged that we did not see either a repeal or modification of the GPO/WEP his personal feelings were brought into his almost weekly e-mail newsletters. His comments were too political and negative for me and therefore in his August 2004 e-mail newsletter I inserted the following.
“As Ken pointed out “we have agreed to disagree”. I feel the role of the “OFFSET/WINDFALL” is to present the facts and to report what has happened. Personal comments as Ken has made in the past and in this newsletter should NOT be part of our role. I find some of the comments offensive and not reflecting my attitude. For two and a half years we were successful in convincing most of the Ohio representatives to cosponsor either the Jefferson or McKeon/Berman bill. WE accomplished this through YOUR efforts of writing letters and phone calls. Our positive approach allowed Ken and I to meet several times with our local Representatives Rob Portman and Steve Chabot and we were successful in convincing them to cosponsor the Jefferson bill. Yes, both have not cosponsored the McKeon/Berman repeal bill and yes I am disappointed but making negative political comments in our newsletters I feel is not the answer. Remember for every bill that is voted on we will always have the “yeas and nays” so what do we gain by slamming one party and hope the other party will vote our way? I am not asking Ken to change some of his comments and although I do not agree with his statements it is his privilege to write how he feels”.
QUOTES FROM KEN MOORE’S November 3, 2004 E-MAIL NEWSLETTER
“Many hard working, well meaning citizens and organizations spent considerable time and effort trying to convince our elected officials that meaningful change was necessary. It became apparent to me that any meaningful change to then GPO and WEP was directly tired to Washington politics.
Having devoted over four years to this fight, it is time for me to step aside and let others continue the fight. I will remain on the sidelines to support the activities of others, but I will not continue the level of commitment that I maintained for over four years.
In my opinion total repeal or constructive change will not happen any time soon. If I see a change in the winds of Washington I will surely rejoin the fight in a more active fashion”.
A SUMMARY of the LAST FEW MONTHS OF 2004
The National Education Association, (NEA) introduced a Discharge Petition in the House of Representatives in the hope the McKeon/Berman repeal bill HR 594 would be moved out of the Ways and Means, subcommittee on Social Security. The bill has 300 cosponsors in the House and 30 in the Senate. A Discharge Petition is a procedural mechanism to bring a bill directly to the floor of the House for consideration. For the discharge petition to become viable 218 votes are necessary. Reps. McKeon and Berman did not support the D P because Rep. Shaw promised he would move the GPO/WEP legislation out of committee this year. When the previous D P was dropped Rep. Turner (D-TX) introduced a new discharge petition and in two days he had acquired 109 cosponsors and now has a total of 193.
Then the elections came, Thanksgiving came, the $ 388 BILLION omnibus bill was passed so the country could continue to run and all other bills were placed on the back burner. And so my dear retirees, as the 108 Congress returns home for the holidays we can bid farewell to this session.
MY FAVORITE SUBJECT P-O-R-K-
Lawmakers from both parties are guilty of PORK to the tune of 15.8 BILLION in the omnibus bill.
The General Accounting Office stated from 1997 to 2003 the Defense Department spent an estimated $100 million for airline tickets that were not used and failed to seek reimbursements.
Consider $443,000 to develop salmon-fortified baby food or $350, 000 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Other examples, $1, million for the Norwegian American Foundation in Seattle, or to protect North Dakota’s sunflower from the blackbirds, $4 million for the International Fertilizer Development Center in Alabama, $1 million for the Wild American Shrimp Initiative, in Oregon several hundred million dollars for wood utilization research, remodeling of a cafeteria at Crater Lake. How about the $172, 514 for a party for a government agency that took over airport security and the senior executives receiving an average of $16,000 in bonuses. Now for my favorite PORK called “THE BIG DIG” located in Boston my old home town. This is a tunnel riddled with leaks that are dumping millions of gallons of water into the $14.6 BILLION tunnel system which was started in the 1990s.
In 1996 Congress voted to give Pres. Clinton and future presidents a line item veto power, but the Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional.
The PUBLIC SERVANT RETIREMENT PROTECTION ACT
Rep. Brady introduced HR 4391 a bill which would repeal the WEP. Under the legislation, Social Security benefits would be calculated as if all the worker’s earnings were subject to Social Security taxes, using the standard benefit formula. The bottom line it would be a very involved bill but would help the low or middle wage earner. I understand SS testified and said it would cost $200 million just to implement the calculation change and another $8 billion in benefits. Remember those retirees under the GPO would not be included in this bill. The bill went no where and will die in committee, amen.
How can we impress upon Congress if the GPO/WEP were repealed that money would immediately be returned to our economy just as the tax cuts Present Bush gave to the other Americans. In 2002 Ohio lost $341.8 million because of the GPO/WEP
I contributed the following information in past newsletters but it is worth repeating and to pass on to our representatives while they are home for the holidays.
From 1964 to 2001 Congress borrowed $700 Billion from the Social Security surplus. In 2002 Congress borrowed $159 Billion and in 2003 the figure was $155.6 Billion. There is NO Social Security trust fund so the taxes collected go into the Treasury and are spent as general revenue. From The Congressional Budget Office
THE MEXICANS AND OUR SOCIAL SECURITY
Twenty countries have agreements with the United States that allow foreign citizens who work here to collect SS benefits. This agreement began in 1977 to allow Americans working abroad the opportunity to collect SS benefits. Under a totalization agreement between two countries, workers may accumulate enough credits to qualify for SS benefits in either country. Mexico is asking for the same totalization agreement. The SSA estimates 50,000 Mexicans would collect $78 million the first year of a US-Mexico agreement, and by 2050 about 300,000 Mexicans would collect $650 million in benefits a year. The census figures show we have 9 million Mexicans in the US and about 5 million are reported to be here illegally. When the President and Congress begin to rewrite SS perhaps it is time to rethink the totalization agreement we have with the 20 countries. Why can’t Americans working abroad contribute only to our SS as if they were working here? For the foreign worker working here if their country has a savings plan their earnings should be forwarded to their country. Is this plan to simple to consider?
A NEW PORMOTION STARTING NOW
In the past you were asked to contact your representatives asking them to support either the repeal or modification bill. Since President Bush has made the reorganization of Social Security one of his priorities it is time to start writing to him. Try to write your first letter before the holidays. Explain how the GPO or the WEP has impacted your life by losing part of your SS. Because of these laws I know some of you now fall at or below the poverty level. Has the loss of your earned income jeopardized your ability to buy needed medication? Just explain the hardship you incur because these discrimination laws reduce your earned SS. Point out you paid both into the state pension fund and SS or by law you are entitled to your husbands SS. Keep letters as close to one page as possible and after the holidays start writing to the president every other week. I plan to start sending him the hardship letters people have sent to me—names are deleted. I hope by sending them out every other week they will attract the presidents’ attention. PLEASE feel free to use any facts in this newsletter.
President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
My next newsletter will probably be sometime in March after I learn what bills have been reintroduced and their number. However PLEASE plan to write the president every 2 or 3 weeks so the subject will remain active and hopefully receive some attention. If they request further information please ask that they contact me at the above address.
Thank you for staying the course; 2005 IS THE YEAR SOMETHING IS ACCOMPLISHED!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eileen
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