Democratic Party of Virginia: Robert Hurt's Answer on Social Security -- The Sound of Silence
- Va. Dems Call on Hurt to Break Silence on Privatizing Social Security

From the Office of the Democratic Party of Virginia

February 23, 2010

CONTACT: Leigh Anne Collier, 804-644-1966 x225

RICHMOND -- Virginia Democrats today called on state Senator and U.S. Congressional candidate Robert Hurt (VA-05) to stop hiding and make clear his position on the newly proposed national GOP Budget Roadmap, which includes privatization of Social Security.

The plan, introduced by ranking Republican budget committee member, Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI), returns to the Bush-era concept of privatizing Social Security in Wall Street accounts.

Representative Tom Perriello (VA-05) announced his opposition to the plan, while several of Hurt's Republican primary opponents announced their support for the concept of privatization in a Charlottesville Daily Progress story on Thursday. Hurt did not respond to the Daily Progress's inquiry and has remained silent on the issue for the five days since.

"Why is Robert Hurt hiding from senior citizens?" asked Leigh Anne Collier, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Virginia. "Seniors deserve to know if their Congressional candidate supports the national Republican plan to gamble hard-earned Social Security funds on the stock market."

Representative Eric Cantor, who endorsed Hurt's campaign, also supports privatizing Social Security. Meanwhile, Hurt has continued his silence.

"Does Robert Hurt agree with the ideas of the other Republicans in his primary and Republican Congressional leadership or will he stand behind Representative Perriello and against these private accounts for Social Security?" Collier continued. "For those who believe in our Greatest Generation, the least you can do is tell them what you believe. You can't run for Congress without making clear where you stand on this issue that is so important to Virginia seniors."

Background

" Perriello opposed Social Security privatization and many GOP candidates supported the concepts. Robert Hurt was unavailable to respond. "Perriello's opposition to the idea of privatization puts him at odds with several of the eight Republican challengers vying to win the GOP nomination to challenge him in the fall." [Charlottesville Daily Progress, 2/18/2010]

" GOP Leader Cantor supports privatizing Social Security and backs Robert Hurt. In May 2001, now Republican Whip Eric Cantor co-signed a letter to the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security urging for privatization. The letter read, "Social Security reform must offer younger workers the opportunity to improve their rates of return using personal retirement accounts." [Rep. Jim DeMint Letter to The Social Security Reform Commission, 5/24/01] Representative Eric Cantor supports Robert Hurt for Congress. [Media General News Service, 1/15/2010]

" The Washington Post's Ezra Klein writes that under House Republican Ranking Member of the Budget Committee Paul Ryan's budget proposal: reforms are "nothing short of violent. Medicare is privatized. Seniors get a voucher to buy private insurance, and the voucher's growth is far slower than the expected growth of health-care costs. Medicaid is also privatized. The employer tax exclusion is fully eliminated, replaced by a tax credit that grows more slowly than medical costs. And beyond health care, Social Security gets guaranteed, private accounts that CBO says will actually cost more than the present arrangement, further underscoring how ancillary the program is to our budget problem." [The Washington Post, 2/1/10; Ranking Republican of Budget Committee Paul Ryan Web site]

" In 2005, President Bush went on a 60 stops in 60 days Social Security tour, following him outlining the details of his private account plan in his February State of the Union Address. [Washington Post, 4/27/05]

" Had seniors been relying on private Social Security accounts in the Stock Market during the 2008 collapse, they might have lost nearly 40% of their retirement savings in the 12 months leading up to the collapse. On October 9, 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 14,164.53. On October 9, 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 8,579.19. [History of Dow Jones Industrial Average, http://www.mdleasing.com/djia.htm; http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=^DJI&a=09&b=9&c=2007&d=09&e=9&f=2008&g=d&z=66&y=198]

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