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Trib polls FL delegation on SS

The Tampa Tribune polled Florida’s Congressional delegation on their Social Security theft stances. Nothing surprising for those who have been following the fight: lots of privateers amongst the GOP, with some notable CYA exceptions for those in districts with lots of retirees.

Constituents in Allen Boyd’s district need to keep the heat on.

Delegation Unnerved By Social Security: From The Tampa Tribune

Florida Republicans in Congress are far from unified behind President Bush's Social Security plan, despite his cross-country campaign to sell it.

At least three key members of the president's party - Reps. Clay Shaw of Fort Lauderdale, Katherine Harris of Sarasota and Ginny Brown- Waite of Brooksville - aren't ready to line up behind his idea for partial privatization of Social Security. The support of a fourth, Rep. C.W. Bill Young of Indian Rocks Beach, is questionable.

Responses to queries of all Florida Congress members this week indicate the state's delegation breaks down roughly along party lines for and against the proposal, with notable exceptions.

Beyond the potential defectors and others who didn't respond, most of Florida's 18 Republicans support the plan, as does their party's one senator, Mel Martinez.

Among Democrats, Sen. Bill Nelson and six House members oppose the plan; a seventh, Allen Boyd of Monticello, didn't respond but has said he favors a plan similar to the president's.

Republicans and Democrats alike are reluctant to suggest options for solving Social Security's long-term financial problem. Only one proposal by a Floridian, Shaw, appears to be gaining popularity as an alternative.

Shaw, a House leader on Social Security issues, supports a plan with one key difference from Bush's. It would allow personal retirement accounts through the Social Security program - but funded by income tax credits, not Social Security tax revenue.

The potential defections come in a state where Bush particularly wants support. Florida's 3.3 million Social Security recipients and ``mailbox economy'' make it more dependent on the program than any other state.

It's also a state where most Republicans, including those in Congress, usually are intensely loyal to the president and his brother, Jeb Bush.

The president made Florida one of five states on a tour immediately after his State of the Union address last week to drum up support for his plan. Speaking at the Tampa Convention Center, he urged citizens to pressure their lawmakers to back him.

Spotty support in Florida could signal trouble for Bush's plan nationwide.

``This is becoming a pattern,'' said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist who cited similar defections in states from the Midwest to the South.

``A lot [of Republicans] are very nervous about this,'' Sabato said, suggesting Bush's proposal may be simply an opening gambit, with any eventual changes taking a different form.

Opinions Have Weight

Several of the Florida Republicans who haven't committed to the president's plan have status in the national argument over Social Security.

Shaw, former chairman of the Social Security subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, is considered the delegation's ``point man'' on Social Security, and his opinion carries weight, other representatives said.

Brown-Waite, a member of the financial services panel likely to consider Bush's proposal, is on the front lines of the battle. Her district, covering retiree areas on the central Gulf Coast, contains some 250,000 Social Security recipients - more than in any other district, and more than in 11 states.

Harris, probably Florida's best-known member of Congress because of her role in the disputed 2000 presidential election, is likely to be the party's 2006 Senate nominee.

Young, Florida's most senior representative, held more clout than any colleague from the state as House Appropriations Committee chairman until he reached his term limit for the post this year.

None of the four voiced direct opposition to Bush, but Shaw prefers his own plan, and Brown-Waite and Harris would not commit.

``Every possibility needs to be on the table,'' Brown-Waite said. ``My primary objective is to be loyal to my constituents, not my party.''

Young hasn't taken a public stance pro or con, and neither he nor a spokesman returned calls for comment. He has been quoted in news reports as saying he wouldn't support a plan that would make Social Security subject to the stock market.

Bush's plan includes investing Social Security tax revenue in the market.

The issue appears awkward for the state's dominant Republicans because of a huge population of elders, less likely than younger people to favor the president's plan.

``They're not going to cast a vote that will end their political careers, especially people in districts with large percentages of seniors,'' Sabato said.

Besides Young, other Republicans who didn't return calls for comment included Reps. Mike Bilirakis of Palm Harbor and Mark Foley of Palm Beach, who also have large retiree populations in their districts. Foley has co- sponsored legislation to enact Shaw's plan.

Those representing fewer retirees felt freer to back Bush.

Republican Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami, whose 47,000 retiree constituents are the fewest of any Florida Congress member, pulled no punches.

``Members of Congress who say this plan is bad, that it's risky, they themselves put their money into the same kind of plan. ... But they don't want to allow Americans to have a similar retirement nest egg,'' Diaz- Balart said. ``Shouldn't working-class, middle-class Americans have that same option? Yes, I do support that.''

......

Robert Wexler of Boca Raton, whose solidly Democratic district is awash with retirees in Broward and Palm Beach counties, was among those making a specific recommendation - rescinding part of Bush's upper-income tax cuts to shore up the Social Security trust fund.

Wexler said Bush has ``a deceptive plan to privatize'' Social Security that will ``increase our nation's debt by trillions and will place an enormous financial burden on the backs of future generations of Americans, ... a risky plan that has no guarantees but a huge payout to the president's cronies on Wall Street.''

Two Democrats who may face tough, statewide elections in 2006 - Nelson, expected to seek a second term in the Senate, and Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa, who's considering a run for governor - are charting a moderate course.

Both oppose Bush's plan because it would take money out of the Social Security trust fund, but both insist they're working on their own ideas. Nelson said he is considering an approach that, like Shaw's, uses tax incentives to set up personal accounts.

For background and continuing coverage check Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall daily.