Dahlkemper accepts Alliance for Retired Americans endorsement, rejects English’s privatization schemes

Farrell, PA - Speaking at United Steelworkers Local Union 1660 Hall, businesswoman and candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania's third district Kathy Dahlkemper today accepted the endorsement of the Alliance for Retired Americans and reiterated her determination to protect Social Security from risky privatization schemes that would place millions of seniors in financial jeopardy.

"I am proud to accept the endorsement of the Alliance for Retired Americans and will fight against the privatization plans favored by my opponent," said Dahlkemper. "Unlike Congressman English, I will never support privatization. I believe it is wrong for government to roll the dice with your retirement." The Alliance for Retired Americans is a non-partisan senior citizen advocacy organization with over 289,000 members in Pennsylvania.

"Congressman English has a shamefully low 12 percent lifetime voting record with the Alliance for Retired Americans," said Jean Friday, the organization's Pennsylvania president. "Kathy Dahlkemper opposes risky schemes to privatize social security, while her opponent has been open to the idea by pledging to leave all options on the table, including privatization, raising the retirement age or even a decrease in benefits."

The Social Security program has long provided secure retirement to millions of seniors. It is estimated that 48 percent of seniors would be living in poverty without the income from their Social Security benefits. President George W. Bush and Congressional Republicans have repeatedly sought to eliminate defined Social Security benefits and instead invest workers money in the stock market.

"Social Security is not yet at a crisis point, so it's critical that we act now to keep the system in place for the next generation of retirees," said Dahlkemper. "What we absolutely cannot do is risk impoverishing millions of seniors by gambling with their money in the stock market."

Dahlkemper has argued that Congress must work together to avoid a crisis that would make Social Security insolvent or drastically cut benefits. Dahlkemper has proposed increasing the income cap on Social Security contributions in order to increase the amount of money in the Social Security trust fund.

English has a long record of supporting risky privatization schemes. In 2001, English voted against an amendment that would have de-funded President Bush's Commission on Social Security, a commission whose main goal was advancing privatization.

"This was the first step on the path to privatized accounts," said Dahlkeemper. "Phil English actively supports privatization. I do not, and I would have never voted to fund that commission."

Additionally, English has a history of supporting privatization over the course of his career.

• In 2000, English told the libertarian pro-privatization CATO Institute that he favored "Social Security reform that would allow workers to save a portion of their payroll taxes in a personal retirement account."
• In 2001, English voted for a budget resolution, H.Con.Res. 83, that would have stripped $600 million from the Social Security surplus to fund new privatized retirement accounts for stock market investment.
• English signed a May 24, 2001, letter to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Mr. Richard Parsons, co-chairmen of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security, saying that Social Security must be changed to include personal retirement accounts.
• In 2002, English told the conservative National Taxpayers Union that he supported changing Social Security so that it would consist of "obligatory personally-controlled retirement accounts."