White House Reaffirms Commitment to Reform

October 3, 2005

On Thursday morning, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan made it clear that the President remains dedicated to Social Security reform. "It is a priority that only gets worse with time and only becomes more costly with time. The President believes it needs to get done. He'll continue to lead on that issue," McClellan said.

Asked about the fiscal feasibility of making the transition to private accounts, McClellan said, "It's something you can't afford not to address…because when we're talking about the long-term challenges to our budget, you have to look at entitlements and you have to address that mandatory spending equation…. Each year that you wait, it only—it costs an additional $600 billion a year. That's why it's so important to move forward now and get it addressed."

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