Washington -- Today, Democrats continued their diversionary tactics to avoid a truthful discussion on Social Security.

"No Republican plan that has been offered privatizes Social Security. Democrats are spreading fear NOT facts," Shaw said.

“In fact, my plan leaves Social Security totally intact. It also adds the opportunity for workers to choose ownership and control of a personal account while guaranteeing current law benefits regardless of the account’s investment performance,” he added.

Ironically, personal account proposals are modeled on the very government retirement plan that Members of Congress and federal employees have contributed to and successfully retired from since 1986 - the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Shaw asked, "If TSP is good enough for Mr. Matsui and Mr. Gephardt, shouldn't it be good enough for the American people?"

In December, House Republicans and Democrats voted to strengthen Social Security in a 415 to 5 vote. That resolution called for saving Social Security as soon as possible without cutting benefits, raising taxes, or ignoring the special needs of women and minorities.

Shaw said, “The discharge petition is another in a long line of political gimmicks intended to scare seniors. Democrats are unwilling to offer their OWN solutions because they don’t have any viable ideas. They simply demagogue our proposals and waste precious time. Under their ‘do nothing’ plan, benefits will be cut by a third, payroll taxes will increase by over half, or we will face either crippling debt or unimaginable spending cuts.”