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TO PRESERVE AND STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY:
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:	Kay Bengston, Director of Domestic Policy, Lutheran Office
for Governmental Affairs, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
202-626-7942

President Phyllis Snyder, President, National Council of Jewish Women,
202-296-2588

WASHINGTON, D.C.  Tuesday, April 26, 2005.   Sixteen national religious
organizations today released a joint statement of principles to guide
Congress as it considers how to preserve and strengthen Social Security.

"Our religious communities speak with one voice on the importance of
providing compassionate care for the elderly, widows, orphans, and persons
with disabilities.  We believe it is the birthright of each person to live a
life with dignity and with access to the basic necessities of life," said Kay
Bengston, Director of Domestic Policy of the Lutheran Office for Governmental
Affairs, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  "It is this deep moral
concern for maintaining and building a compassionate society that brings us
together in this joint statement."  

"The Social Security system has been a tremendous success, providing all
participants with economic security when they need it most.  It has
demonstrated the positive role that government can play in advancing the
common good.  Future generations deserve nothing less," said Kay Bengston. 
"We need to strengthen the present system so that it will serve future
generations." 

The joint statement says future changes to the Social Security system should:
.  continue to reflect the highest moral values of a compassionate society
.  assure the fulfillment of basic human needs for all participants in times
of need
.  build upon the present structure, assuring equity, fairness, and
progressivity
.  balance revenues and expenditures over time and assure future generations
will not be unfairly burdened by this generation's debts
.  promote private savings and employer-provided pensions â?? in addition to
Social Security.

"We believe the strength of our country is measured best by the compassion we
show to one another in times of greatest need and vulnerability.  In the
months ahead, we will continue to look at proposals to modify the Social
Security system through the framework of our moral values and religious
experience," said Sammie Moshenberg, Director of Washington Operations,
National Council of Jewish Women.  "We will engage with members of Congress
and the public to help find the best way to strengthen and preserve the
Social Security system so that future generations may continue to benefit, as
we do now."

The Religious Organizations Statement of Principles follows:

To Preserve and Strengthen Social Security:
Religious Organization Statement of Principles

We the undersigned religious organizations come from diverse religious
traditions, yet our communities speak with one voice on the importance of
providing compassionate care for the elderly, widows, orphans, and persons
with disabilities.  It is the birthright of each person to live a life with
dignity and with access to the basic necessities of life.  It is because of
our deep moral concern for the most vulnerable in our society that many of
our organizations actively supported the creation of the Social Security
system in 1935 and many of its later improvements.  

Today, we celebrate the tremendous success of the Social Security system. 
For over sixty years, it has provided the foundation for a compassionate
society by providing basic economic security for all participants.  Its
present overall structure--universal, compulsory, an earned right,
wage-related rather than means-tested, and protected against inflation--has
served our country well.  In 2004, the combined programs of Social Security
provided benefits to 48 million people B including retirees, survivors, and
eight million people living with disabilities.	Survivor benefits supported
more than five million children.  Without this basic income security, over 50
percent of women and 40 percent of men over age 65 would likely be living in
poverty.  The Social Security system has demonstrated the positive role that
government can play in advancing the common good.  Future generations deserve
nothing less. 

It is our common concern for the economic well being of future generations
that brings our nation to its current discussion of the future of the Social
Security system.  It is a timely and appropriate discussion.  It warrants
careful reflection concerning the basic principles upon which the present
system was founded and the moral values which bring us together in common
purpose as a nation.  We seek to contribute to this discussion by offering
the following principles, informed by our moral beliefs and religious
experience, as a basis for evaluating proposed changes to the Social Security
system.

Compassion.  As citizens and residents of this country, we have a collective
responsibility to care for one another.  The federal government should
continue its important, effective, and efficient role promoting a
compassionate society through the Social Security system. 

Economic security.  Social insurance should remain a basic part of our
society.  Disability and survivor insurance must be maintained.  Security for
the elderly, survivors, and persons with disabilities should not be left to
the vagaries of fragile family support systems, voluntary charity, or
economic cycles.  

Equity, fairness, and progressivity.  The present overall structure of the
Social Security system --universal, compulsory employee and employer
contributions, an earned right, wage-related rather than means-tested, and
protected against inflation--should be preserved and strengthened.  Overall,
the costs and benefits should be distributed progressively in proportion to
each person=s ability to pay and level of need.  Care must be given to assure
that segments of the population are not systematically disadvantaged due to
gender, race, or marital status.

 
Savings and pensions.  Social Security is intended to be the third leg of a
three-legged stool, the other two legs being personal savings and
employer-provided pensions.  Congress should encourage personal savings and
employer pensions in addition to (not as a substitute for) the current
system, and, especially, it should explore ways to help low- and
middle-income households save more for their future. 

Stewardship of the public trust.  Congress has a moral obligation to fulfill
its trust responsibilities to those who have contributed through their
payroll taxes to the Social Security trust fund.  Congress must also assure
that future beneficiaries will receive benefits sufficient to meet their
basic needs, that trust fund revenues and expenditures balance over time, and
that future generations will not be unfairly burdened by this generation=s
debts.

We believe the strength of our country is measured best by the compassion we
show to one another in our times of greatest need and vulnerability.  In the
months ahead, we will continue to look at new proposals to modify the Social
Security system through the framework of our moral beliefs and religious
experiences.  We will seek to engage with members of Congress and the public
to help discern the best way to strengthen and preserve the Social Security
system so that future generations may continue to benefit, as we do now.

Organizational sign-ons as of April 26, 2005

African Methodist Episcopal Church
Call to Renewal 
Church Women United
Episcopal Church USA
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Council of the Churches in Christ in the USA
National Council of Jewish Women
NETWORK:  A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society