More on Social Security

[Disclaimer: This post was first published on Coleen Rowley's campaign weblog.]

We have already discussed recent Bush administration efforts to revive their deeply unpopular plan for privatizing Social Security. The Campaign for America's Future, a grassroots organization dedicated to "a new vision of an economy and a future that works for all of us", and which played a key role in defeating Social Security privatization in 2005, is gearing up for the fight.

They recently released an analysis of the impact of the 2006 elections on Social Security, along with reports for a small handful of legislators, describing their past support for privatization. Minnesota was the only state to have two House members mentioned: Mark Kennedy and John Kline.

The full report on Kline is available here (PDF). Here's the key paragraph:

Representative John Kline, R-MN, has been one of the staunchest supporters of privatizing Social Security. He is a cosponsor of HR 3304, the bill that would use the Social Security surplus to help fund private accounts. Kline aggressively and publicly advocates a risky scheme for privatizing Social Security. In response to a survey administered by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune newspaper, he responded “Strongly Agree” to a question that said, “American workers should be allowed to place a portion of their Social Security payroll deductions into private retirement accounts if they wish.” As his record clearly demonstrates, Kline wants to put Americans’ retirement at risk, and as a member of the U.S. Congress, he’s currently in the position to do so.

All but one of the Democrats currently in the House of Representatives oppose Social Security privatization, as does Coleen Rowley. And Republican proponents of the plan will believe they have a public mandate to implement privatization if they are returned to Congress.

One more reason to vote for change.