Former Cato VP Lea Abdnor Named to Comission

August 28, 2001

President Bush has announced his intention to nominate Leanne Abdnor has the final member of the Commission to Strengthen Social Security. There has been a vacancy since Carolyn Weaver resigned for personal reasons shortly after the commission was established.

Abdnor served as Cato's Vice President for External Affairs from 1994 to 1998. In this position she was responsible for Cato's relations with Congress, the White House, the business community, and other organizations. She was also actively involved in Cato's Social Security efforts, especially the impact of Social Security privatization on women.

She left Cato in 1998 to become the first executive director of the Alliance for Worker Retirement Security (AWRS), an industry-backed group supporting individual accounts. In June 2000, having tired of Washington life, she returned to Colorado where she operates a small business. Prior to joining Cato, Abdnor was a lobbyist for the energy industry.

Along with former Congressman Tim Penny (D-Minn) and anti-poverty activist Sam Beard, both members of the advisory board to Cato's Project on Social Security Privatization, Abdnor will bring to three the number of commissioners with close ties to Cato.

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