As I think all Americans understand on both sides of the aisle, the Social Security system as it is structured today is a pay-as-you-go system.
I am accountable for all the actions at my laboratory. I am accountable for all of the policies and procedures of security systems, and I am accountable for the training of the individuals working in the lab. We can't excuse them if they ignore these policies, if they are negligent, we have to hold them accountable as well.
I do not believe that the Social Security system is in crisis. The Social Security Administration itself recently reported that the system is able to pay full benefits as they are defined today until at least 2042.
I will not cut benefits. I want to enhance benefits for low-income workers and for women who have been disadvantaged by the current Social Security system.
Our Hispanic community needs to understand how important the Social Security system is for not only its retired citizens, but also its disabled workers.
On the other end of the spectrum, these women who do live long enough to collect Social Security face the challenge of being disproportionately dependent on the Social Security system for retirement income.
Under the current pay-as-you-go Social Security system, not one person is actually guaranteed benefits.
Finding the Russian scientists may be a problem being that Russia does not have a Social Security System, as here in America, that allows us to monitor, track down and capture an American citizen.
I believe it's time to put our best ideas on the table and work toward a bipartisan solution, with the single goal of leaving the Social Security system stronger than we found it.
I think that Mr. Snowden raised some legitimate concerns. How he did it was something that did not follow the procedures and practices of our intelligence community. If everybody took the approach that I make my own decisions about these issues, then it would be very hard to have an organized government or any kind of national security system.
