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Congressman John T. Salazar -- Defending Rural Values -- Third District of Colorado
  For immediate release  
  January 13, 2005  
 

Congressman Salazar Hears Seniors' Social Security Concerns in Visit to Durango Senior Center

 
 

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman John Salazar (CO-3) today visited the City of Durango Senior Center to hear firsthand from seniors about their concerns with Social Security and retirement. Salazar emphasized the need to stabilize Social Security for the long run in order to ensure today’s seniors and their grandchildren do not have their benefits cut.

"Making sure that Social Security is around for our seniors and our grandchildren is critical," said Salazar. "We have worked hard all of our lives to achieve the American dream and we should never take risks with our retirement security."

Salazar pointed out a recent Congressional Budget Office prediction that under the current formulation the Social Security trust fund will last until 2052. The CBO is a non-partisan government office that provides analysis of Congressional legislation.

"We definitely need to reform the current system to make sure that anyone who puts money into the system gets the benefits they were promised in return," said Salazar. "But we need to be careful that we don't rush to pass legislation that will have a negative effect. I am especially concerned about proposals to privatize Social Security.  However, I will look at every proposal carefully to ensure that social security is strengthened for both current and future retirees."

Salazar took an informal poll of the fifty plus individuals in attendance by asking for a showing of hands on who opposed privatization. A majority demonstrated opposition while a handful of younger constituents raised their hands in favor of private accounts.

 

 
 

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