ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Subcommittee on Social Security

Shaw Announces Hearing on Social Security
Improvements for Women, Seniors, and Working Americans

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 on Social Security improvements for women, seniors, and working Americans. The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 28, 2002, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 11:00 a.m.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

Social Security faces serious financial challenges soon after the baby-boomers begin retiring later this decade. Making Social Security truly secure for the 21^st century and beyond is a national priority for the public, Congress, and the President. However, efforts to strengthen Social Security cannot be done hastily or without bipartisan cooperation. While comprehensive reform may take time to emerge, many program improvements have been offered that could be made in the near-term. These include: enhancing Social Security benefits for women, assuring seniors that promised benefits will be paid, and improving information provided to the public on Social Security's future.

Enhancements to women's Social Security benefits would help ensure that Social Security continues to successfully reduce poverty for women and would better meet the evolving needs of women today. Without Social Security, over half of elderly women would live in poverty. Although vital to women's economic security, some aspects of the Social Security program have not kept pace with changes in women's participation in the workforce and trends in marriage and child-care. Many proposals have been made to improve Social Security benefits for women, ranging from minor adjustments to spouse and survivor benefits to improving widows' benefits to credits for years spent caring for young children. The impacts and costs of these proposals must be carefully assessed to ensure those most in need are helped first and to ensure that any effect on Social Security's long-term financing is minimized.

Not just women, but all seniors depend on Social Security for income they can count on. Yet, increasingly seniors are concerned that proposals to strengthen the program may result in changes to their promised benefits. While both the President and the U.S. House of Representatives have expressed their commitment to fully preserve promised benefits for current retirees and those nearing retirement, legislation has been introduced to provide beneficiaries with a certificate to guarantee benefits.

In some instances, seniors' concerns about changes in their benefits are fueled by conflicting information in the media and other sources about Social Security's financing shortfall. In order to make informed decisions about Social Security's future and their own retirement planning, Americans need to have a basic understanding of the Social Security program, its benefits, and its financing. The Social Security Statement, mailed annually to all workers age 25 and older provides basic information about individual benefits and limited information on Social Security finances. The Annual Report of the Board of Trustees provides detailed information on the financial status of the Social Security trust funds. To improve public understanding, proposals have been introduced to expand the amount of information included in the Social Security Statement and Annual Report.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Shaw stated: "As we continue to work to find common ground on ways to secure Social Security's future, opportunities exist for us to forge a bipartisan beginning. Women make invaluable contributions to the growth of our economy and the stability of American families, yet despite a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice, many end up living in poverty during retirement. Seniors fear proposals aimed at saving Social Security will reduce the very benefit they count on to live. Information about Social Security's benefits and its future is out there, but some question whether such information is sufficient or widely understood. We should begin now to improve women's benefits, reassure seniors that their promised benefits are secured, and better educate Americans about Social Security."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The Subcommittee will examine proposals to improve benefits for women, to guarantee promised benefits to seniors, and to improve public information about Social Security, its benefits, and its financial future.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note: Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610 by the close of business, Thursday, March 14, 2002. Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver their 200 copies to the Subcommittee on Social Security in room B-316 Rayburn House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing. The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse unopened and unsearchable deliveries to all House Office Buildings.

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. Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in Word Perfect or MS Word format and MUST 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. Any statements must include a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

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.