To express the sense of the Senate regarding the urgent need for legislation to ensure the long term viability of the Social Security program.

1. Adds SEC. 308. SOCIAL SECURITY RESTRUCTURING on page 79, line 22

   Adds a sectionPrinted page

   Inserted: SEC. 308. SOCIAL SECURITY RESTRUCTURING.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--

   Inserted: (1) Social Security is the foundation of retirement income for most Americans;

   Inserted: (2) preserving and strengthening the long term viability of Social Security is a vital national priority and is essential for the retirement security of today's working Americans, current and future retirees, and their families;

   Inserted: (3) Social Security faces significant fiscal and demographic pressures;

   Inserted: (4) the nonpartisan Office of the Chief Actuary at the Social Security Administration reports that--

   Inserted: (A) the number of workers paying taxes to support each Social Security beneficiary has dropped from 16.5 in 1950 to 3.3 in 2002;

   Inserted: (B) within a generation there will be only 2 workers to support each retiree, which will substantially increase the financial burden on American workers;

   Inserted: (C) without structural reform, the Social Security system, beginning in 2018, will pay out more in benefits than it will collect in taxes;

   Inserted: (D) without structural reform, the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted in 2042, and Social Security tax revenue in 2042 will only cover 73 percent of promised benefits, and will decrease to 65 percent by 2077;

   Inserted: (E) without structural reform, future Congresses may have to raise payroll taxes 50 percent over the next 75 years to pay full benefits on time, resulting in payroll tax rates of as much as 16.9 percent by 2042 and 18.9 percent by 2077;

   Inserted: (F) without structural reform, Social Security's total cash shortfall over the next 75 years is estimated to be more than $25,000,000,000,000 in constant 2003 dollars or $3,500,000,000 measured in present value terms;

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   Inserted: (G) absent structural reforms, spending on Social Security will increase from 4.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2003 to 7.0 percent in 2077; and

   Inserted: (5) the Congressional Budget Office, the General Accounting Office, the Congressional Research Service, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security have all warned that failure to enact fiscally responsible Social Security reform quickly will result in 1 or more of the following:

   Inserted: (A) Higher tax rates.

   Inserted: (B) Lower Social Security benefit levels.

   Inserted: (C) Increased Federal debt or less spending on other federal programs.

   Inserted: (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--

   Inserted: (1) the President, the Congress and the American people including seniors, workers, women, minorities, and disabled persons should work together at the earliest opportunity to enact legislation to achieve a solvent and permanently sustainable Social Security system; and

   Inserted: (2) Social Security reform--

   Inserted: (A) must protect current and near retirees from any changes to Social Security benefits;

   Inserted: (B) must reduce the pressure on future taxpayers and on other budgetary priorities;

   Inserted: (C) must provide benefit levels that adequately reflect individual contributions to the Social Security system.

   Inserted: (D) must preserve and strengthen the safety net for vulnerable populations including the disabled and survivors.

   Inserted: (3) We should honor section 13301 of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.

   Original wording

   On page 79, after line 22, add the following:

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