FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-9263
March 30, 2000
No. SS-14
Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr., (R-FL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine the findings of The 2000 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees on the financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. The hearing will take place on Thursday, April 6, 2000, in the main hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include the Social Security Public Trustees who helped draft The 2000 Annual Report. Any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The Social Security Board of Trustees recently released The 2000 Annual Report on the financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. The Trustees' projections show that Social Security's financial outlook has improved slightly relative to last year's projections.
Based on intermediate assumptions about economic and demographic trends, the Trustees project that Social Security will begin running cash deficits in 2015 - one year later than projected in last year's report. The Trust Funds are expected to be depleted by 2037 - three years later than projected last year. At that time, annual tax revenues will be sufficient to pay 72 percent of annual expenditures. The improvement in Social Security's financial outlook is mostly attributable to improved economic assumptions and several changes in the methods used by the Trustees to make projections.
Despite the near-term improvement in Social Security's financial status, the Trustees conclude that the Trust Funds are not in "close actuarial balance" over the next 75 years, the traditional measure for the financial soundness of the system. The Trustees repeated their call to make timely changes to the Social Security program so that changes can be phased in and workers can have time to adjust their plans to account for the changes. The Public Trustees noted that "...a few good years do not reduce the inherent uncertainty about the future."
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Shaw stated: "While the near-term prognosis for Social Security appears slightly improved, its underlying vital signs remain critical. In fact, the Trustees' Report shows that Social Security's cash flow problem will get worse with each passing year after 2015. We cannot rely on economic growth from one year to the next to change that. Without responsible reforms that save Social Security for 75 years and beyond, this long-run picture will only get worse with each passing year."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The Subcommittee will examine the findings of The 2000 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees on the financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, April 20, 2000, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Social Security office, room B-316 Rayburn House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities.
If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or
202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is
requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general
(including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be
directed to the Committee as noted above.