In response to Chairman Bill Thomas’s comments on Social Security benefits for women at a National Journal forum yesterday, Senator Patty Murray today said:
“Republican plans to ‘kill’ Social Security in order to ‘save’ it only look worse as details trickle out. Today, we learn that discounting benefits based on a person’s gender is under active consideration by Republican leaders. This idea is a non-starter.
“The mere suggestion that women – because they are women – should receive diminished Social Security benefits belongs to a different age. The promise of a guaranteed Social Security benefit is especially important to women because they face unique challenges in retirement. Women make less money than men for performing the same jobs during their careers, women leave the workforce to raise families, and women live longer — and are more likely to suffer from a chronic health condition. The work place has enough gender inequity without furthering this inequity into retirement.
“As a result of these conditions, Social Security is the only thing that keeps millions of older women out of poverty. Protecting and preserving that promise – after a lifetime of work and making our nation stronger – must be at the heart of any and every Social Security discussion we have.”
Chairman Thomas’s comments can be found at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19257-2005Jan18.html
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