For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 2, 2001
Executive Order
President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security
By the authority vested in me as President by
the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America,
including the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C.
App.), and to preserve Social Security for senior Americans while
building wealth for younger Americans, it is hereby ordered as
follows:
Section
1. Establishment. There is established the
President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security (Commission).
Sec. 2. Membership. The
Commission shall be composed of sixteen members appointed by the
President, of which no more than eight shall be members of the same
political party. The President shall also designate two
members of the Commission to act as co-chairs. The two
co-chairs shall not be members of the same political party.
Sec. 3. Mission. The
mission of the Commission shall be to submit to the President
bipartisan recommendations to modernize and restore fiscal soundness
to the Social Security system according to the following principles:
(a) Modernization must not change Social Security benefits for retirees
or near-retirees;
(b) The entire Social Security
surplus must be dedicated to Social Security only;
(c) Social Security payroll taxes
must not be increased;
(d) Government must not invest
Social Security funds in the stock market;
(e) Modernization must preserve
Social Security's disability and survivors components; and
(f) Modernization must include
individually controlled, voluntary personal retirement accounts, which
will augment the Social Security safety net.
Sec.
4. Administration. (a) The Social
Security Administration shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide
administrative support and funding for the Commission.
(b) Members of the Commission shall
serve without any compensation for their work on the
Commission. Members appointed from among private citizens of
the United States, however, while engaged in the work of the
Commission, may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu
of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving
intermittently in Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707), to the
extent funds are available.
(c) The Commission shall have a
staff headed by an Executive Director, who shall be selected by the
President. To the extent permitted by law, office space,
analytical support, and additional staff support for the Commission
shall be provided by executive branch departments and agencies as
directed by the President.
(d) The Commission shall receive
input from and provide briefings to the Congress, by procedures
determined by the President in consultation with the congressional
leadership and the Commission. Public hearings shall be held
at the call of the co-chairs, in consultation with the President.
(e) The functions of the President
under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, except for those
in section 6 of that Act, that are applicable to the Commission, shall
be performed by the Social Security Administration, in accordance with
the guidelines that have been issued by the Administrator of General
Services.
Sec. 5. Reports. The
Commission shall submit reports to the President as follows: (a)
Interim Report. An interim report shall describe the
challenges facing the Social Security system and the criteria by which
the Commission will evaluate reform proposals. These
criteria may include but are not limited to: solvency, sustainability,
benefit adequacy, fair treatment across generations and demographic
groups, total annual cost obligations, net impact on the Federal
budget, impact upon national savings, impact on workforce
participation, impact on employer-provided pension plans, rates of
return, and protections against poverty.
(b) Final Report. The
final report will set forth the Commission's recommendations, in
accordance with its stated mission in section 3 of this order,
regarding how to strengthen Social Security with personal accounts.
The Commission shall submit its final report during the fall of
2001. The submission date shall be determined by the
co-chairs in consultation with the President.
Sec. 6. Termination. The
Commission shall terminate 30 days after submitting its final report.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 2, 2001.
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