Media Release
| For Immediate Release | Contact | Phone |
| June 11, 2005 | Mike Olender | 732-246-4772 |
New Jersey Citizen Action Hosts Social Security Town Hall Forum in Hamilton, NJ
New Jerseyans Call on Reps. Smith, Saxton, Ferguson, Frelinghuysen, LoBiondo to "Take a Stand" Against Bush Proposal
Hamilton, New Jersey — Today New Jersey Citizen Action, as part of its Keep the Promise of Social Security Campaign, held a Town Hall community forum on the issue of Social Security and the Bush Administration's proposed reforms. Representative Chris Smith (R-4), who has yet to state his position with respect to the President's privatization and benefit cut proposal or agree to meet with representatives of the Coalition, neglected the invitation to join the panel, which was held on a venue up the road from his Hamilton district office. The Town Hall forum featured a diverse panel of community leaders provided an opportunity for concerned citizens and constituents of the 4th Congressional District to voice their concerns of how privatization would affect New Jerseyans.
Panelists at the forum included Alex Bussey, a former Social Security Administrator and current speaker for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Nikki Mosgrove of Trenton National Organization of Women and NAACP, Nicole Davis of the Mercer County Monday Morning Network, a disability advocacy organization, and Jason Springer, a Democratic political consultant. Mike Olender, Organizer at NJCA, will moderate the program.
"I am very disappointed that Rep. Smith did not show up to speak to his constituents about his stance on this important issue, said Mike Olender, Organizer at New Jersey Citizen Action. "All indications are that he does not support the President's plan to privatize Social Security, cut benefits, and borrow trillions of dollars, yet he has not yet taken a public stance to that effect. Considering his strong posture with other important issues, it is a disappointment to see him not do the same with Social Security".
President Bush's scheme to privatize Social Security would undermine Social Security and replace it with an expensive and risky privatization scheme that will end the guaranteed benefit which has been the foundation of financial security for seniors, survivors and the disabled for the better part of 70 years, and create massive new national debt. His recent proposal to cut benefits as means of dealing with a possible insolvency problem in the future will hit the middle class the hardest by imposing cuts in guaranteed benefits of up to 25%.
The President extended his 60 day "Town Hall" tour of dozens of cities to promote his plan to privatize Social Security. With access to and participation in these "Town Halls" being limited to those who agree with his plan, Americans who have legitimate questions have not been given the opportunity to participate in these forums. Saturday's Town Hall forum presented an opportunity for concerned citizens to ask the questions that have been avoided by the administration and to demand that Congressman Smith state his position.
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New Jersey Citizen Action is the state's largest citizen watchdog coalition, with over 100 affiliate organizations and 60,000 individual members.
