House, Senate Unveil Social Security Reform Plans

Republican leaders in the House and Senate have unveiled similar plans to restructure the Social Security System, a proposal that includes individual investment accounts, albeit on a smaller scale than was initially proposed by President Bush, and funded through different avenues.According to reports, the individual accounts would be financed via Social Security surplus, which is, according to projections, expected to zero out in 2016.Under the Bush plan, payroll taxes would be steered to fund existing benefits under the 70-year-old program, thereby prompting government borrowing to ward off any benefits cuts. President Bush's reform plan for has met with staunch opposition from Democrats and a rising number of Republicans.The surplus, which will approach $69 billion this year, is used to fund other federal programs, and lawmakers subsequently send that amount in bonds to the Social Security Administration. Under the GOP plans, the bonds would be diverted to private investment accounts for workers.