Greenspan to Congress: Fix Social Security, Medicare Quickly!

Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan urged lawmakers to move quickly to repair the problems with Social Security and Medicare and warned that delays would only worsen the country's budget woes. In prepared remarks to the House Budget Committee, Greenspan again endorsed President Bush's plan to establish private accounts for Social Security, but said more needed to be done before the 70-year old program would be on solid footing. Just last month, Greenspan urged slow-but-steady approach to Bush's reform plan. Greenspan said switching to the private accounts system would be a way to boost the current savings rate. Greenspan also reiterated his warning that government had over-promised what it could deliver to the 77 million Baby Boomers who are now approaching retirement and said that cuts to benefits would have to be given serious consideration. "If existing promises need to be changed, those changes should be made sooner rather than later,'' he said.