Remarks on strengthening Social Security in Orlando, Florida

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, March 21, 2005

So I'm looking forward to working with Congress to make sure that we continue to create an environment in which we can have economic growth and vitality. There's a lot of things we can do--pass a reasonable budget, for starters; make sure we're wise about how we spend your money. Another thing we can do is keep your taxes low. Third thing we need to do is to make sure that Congress gets an energy bill to my desk.

In 2001, I was concerned about dwindling supply in the United States and more dependence upon supply from overseas. And so I put together a group of smart people, and we came together with an energy strategy. And it's a multifaceted strategy. It says, we've got to conserve more; we need to work on ways to encourage conservation; we've got to develop alternative sources of energy like ethanol and biodiesel. We need more LNG facilities so we can bring liquified natural gas to our power plants around the United States.

We'll spend taxpayers' money on research projects so that we could, for example, be able to burn coal in a zero-emissions plant. We've got a plant--such a strategy and such an experimentation going on right now. I think we ought to explore--and we are--ways to see if we can't use hydrogen to power our automobiles, so that we become not only less dependent on foreign sources of energy but that we're wiser about environmental air standards, about protecting environmental air standards.

In other words, there's a lot of things I put in that report. I'm concerned about the price of your gasoline. I'm concerned about rising prices. And Congress needs to stop debating this bill. Congress needs to get it to my desk, so we can start the progress of becoming less dependent on foreign sources of energy.

You don't have to worry about these ones. [Laughter] We're on board--on the same-we're working on--we're working toward the same goal, and that's energy independence.

I want to talk about Social Security. First, Social Security is one of our great institutions. I think Franklin Roosevelt did a good thing when he created Social Security--matter of fact, I know he did because it's provided a retirement safety net for a lot of folks. And that's important.

The problem is we've got a problem with Social Security. And that's what I want to discuss with you. As a matter of fact, I think this is maybe the 16th State I've been to since I gave my State of the Union, talking about Social Security, the fact that it's one of the great moral successes, the fact that the system has helped seniors enjoy the dignity of a secure retirement.

I'm assuring people I fully understand a lot of seniors rely upon their Social Security check. Don't you? It matters a lot. It matters to seniors all around our country. And that's why I'm spending a lot of time not only addressing the problem--which I'm going to define for you in a minute--but, most importantly, saying to seniors, you have nothing to fear when it comes to this talk about making sure the system works for the next generation. It's really important for people to hear that. It's taken 16 States so far to get the message out. I got three more next week. No matter how many States it takes or how many speeches I give, I want seniors to understand all across America, no matter what the rhetoric is, no matter what the pamphlets say, no matter what the pundits tell you, this Government will make and keep its promise to our seniors who have retired.