Oct 20, 2011
Rob Cornilles Leaves Oregon Seniors Guessing on Social Security
Oregon Tea Party candidate Rob Cornilles has opened the door to private Social Security accounts, but still hasn’t given real answers about whether he would let people opt out of Social Security. Oregon voters are left guessing whether he supports the House Republican plan that ends Social Security as we know it by allowing people to immediately opt out of the program. Cornilles recently met at the National Republican Congressional Committee and accepted campaign contributions from NRCC Chair Pete Sessions, who authored legislation that creates a private retirement savings option.
“Tea Party candidate Rob Cornilles has already indicated his support for private Social Security accounts, and it’s time he tells Oregonians whether he would support the House Republican plan to let them leave Social Security and handle their retirement alone,” said Amber Moon, Western Regional Press Secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Tea Party candidate Rob Cornilles recently met with House Republican leaders in Washington and took their campaign cash, and Oregon voters deserve to know if he pledged his support for their legislation that would create a private retirement savings option.”
Background:
Expressed Support for Private Accounts for Social Security. When asked about the Ryan Plan, Cornilles said, “Right now there’s two plans, essentially, one is to let Social Security go bankrupt by doing nothing, by allowing it to just continue on its present course. And the other is to take it totally private. I think that somewhere in between, I think you create an opportunity rather to allow people more choice.” [Pacific University Candidate Forum, 10/9/11]
Cornilles to Meet at National Republican Congressional Committee with Business Coalition for Fair Competition. On October 5, 2011, Cornilles met at the National Republican Congressional Committee with The Business Coalition for Fair Competition for a roundtable. [Business Coalition for Fair Competition, accessed 10/3/11]
House Republicans Propose Social Security Opt-Out. “House Republicans on Friday introduced legislation that would allow workers to partially opt out of Social Security immediately, and fully opt out after 15 years.” The measure was introduced by NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (TX-32) and Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (TX-05) among others. [The Hill, 6/6/11]
Cornilles Received Money from National Republicans and Sessions. In 2010, Cornilles received $2,500 from Rep. Sessions’ PAC, and $5,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee. [Open Secrets, accessed 10/18/11; Open Secrets, accessed 10/18/11]
Dallas Morning News: Dow's Fall Shows Peril of Changing Social Security. “The stock market fell again Friday, marking a six-week slump. That’s bad news for investors — and bad timing for Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions and others who want to transform Social Security by creating investment accounts for workers. Sessions, who runs the Republican congressional campaign effort, has been pushing as long as he’s been in the House to partly privatize Social Security. […] Indeed, after President George W. Bush’s failed push for a similar plan early in his second term, most Republicans backed away from the idea.” [Dallas Morning News, 6/11/11]
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