In a stunning video, Congressman Lee Terry has admitted to a Nebraska TV station that he should be held accountable for breaking his promises – even while ignoring how he promised the voters that he would protect Social Security from privatization and then later co-sponsored a bill that would lead to Social Security being privatized. Watch the video of Congressman Terry telling KETV, “But the reality is my principles shouldn’t change. If I say X and I do Y, then I’m not trustworthy anymore. And then I think you’re not being honest with the public anymore.”
“Congressman Terry said it himself that politicians who say one thing in Nebraska and do something else in Washington can’t be trusted,” said Brandon Lorenz of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Congressman Terry’s admission that politicians who pull a bait and switch can’t be trusted will come back to haunt him when Nebraska’s seniors learn that he promised to protect Social Security from privatization and then went co-sponsored a bill to gamble the retirement of Nebraskans on the stock market.”
BACKGROUND:
2011: Congressman Terry Broke Pledge to Protect Social Security from Privatization by Co-Sponsoring Congressman Sessions Bill. In 2011, Terry broke a 2010 pledge to oppose all efforts to privatize Social Security “in whole or in part.” Terry co-sponsored a proposal written by Rep. Pete Sessions that would allow people to opt out of Social Security and instead divert payroll contributions into individual accounts. “What was attractive to him is that, if I have an option, and secondly, that if I can control my own destiny without giving it to somebody who’s going to spend it, then that’s far better than seeing somebody go spend our future away,” Sessions said. [Omaha World-Herald, 7/11/11]
AARP Nebraska Called it a “Carve-Out” Measure that was a Move Toward Privatization. According to the Omaha World Herald, “Mark Intermill, advocacy director for AARP Nebraska, described the bill as a ‘carve-out’ measure that seemed to be a move toward privatization.” [Omaha World-Herald, 7/11/11]
Headline: Terry Flips on Social Security [Omaha World-Herald, 7/11/11]
2010: Congressman Terry Signed a Pledge to back No Efforts to Privatize Social Security. According to the Omaha World Herald, “during a rally that included AARP Nebraska and others, U.S. Rep. Lee Terry abandoned his support of a proposal President George W. Bush once made to overhaul Social Security, and signed a pledge to back no efforts to privatize Social Security “in whole or in part.” So his decision last month to sign onto a Texas congressman’s proposal allowing people to opt out of Social Security and divert their paycheck contributions into individual accounts produced some head-scratching back home.” [Omaha World-Herald, 7/11/11]
Congressman Terry Removed Name from Social Security Privatization Bill After he was Contacted by the Omaha World Herald. In 2011, after the Omaha World Herald contacted his office, Terry removed his name as a co-sponsor of Sessions bill. Terry’s spokesman Charles Isom said, “Congressman Terry recognizes something must be done to address entitlement reform […] While he feels this bill does not weaken Social Security, the suggestion by some that this bill is a step toward ‘privatization’ does not help move the conversation forward […] As such he has taken his name off of the bill,” Terry’s spokesman Charles Isom said in a statement. [Omaha World-Herald, 7/11/11]
Congressman Terry Continued to Praise the Bill’s Sponsors Attempt to Address Social Security. According to the Omaha World Herald, after Terry removed his name from Pete Session’s bill to privatize Social Security, “He continued, however, to laud the bill sponsors’ attempt to address problems with the Social Security system’s balance sheet.” [Omaha World Herald, 8/29/11]
Omaha World-Herald: “Terry Did an About-Face on Social Security” [Omaha World Herald, 8/29/11]