Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I am pleased that you have scheduled this series of hearings on President Clinton's proposal to earmark 62 percent of the unified budget surpluses for the next 15 years for transfer to the Social Security Trust Fund to be invested in the stock market. The President says that this will produce higher returns for Social Security and ultimately for retirees. However, it also raises a number of concerns relative to Government involvement in the stock market and in corporate governance that need to be examined and addressed if the Congress is to go down that path. Given this Committee's jurisdiction over the securities markets, it is imperative that we begin that debate sooner rather than later.

In that regard, I welcome my dear friend the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board to the subcommittee and I look forward to hearing what you have to say. I understand that Deputy Secretary Summers will appear before us this afternoon to respond to Chairman Greenspan's criticisms of the Clinton proposal.

While the Administration has not submitted a legislative proposal yet, Messrs. Markey and Bartlett and Pomeroy have introduced a bill (H.R. 871) to effectuate the President's plan and to establish safeguards to meet the objections and concerns that have been raised. I believe this bill deserves serious consideration.

Chairman Oxley and my colleagues, I am willing to be educated on this matter but I must note that I am leery of privatization of Social Security. Much of the discussion of that topic so far, especially the concept of scrapping the present system for individual savings accounts, seems to have as its premise that most Americans are well-employed middle-class persons who just don't save enough. This is not altogether true. Granted: increasing numbers of households are in the stock market through mutual funds, but this is not representative of the large numbers of working poor who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table and clothe and educate their families. Saving is a luxury they can ill afford. It is a testament to this society that we have established and maintained a Social Security system that spreads the risk among all Americans and makes sure that our senior citizens, especially the elderly poor, have a financial safety net to fall back on.

I look forward to hearing what the witnesses have to say. I also look forward to seeing the rest of the President's plan for preserving Social Security and to our working with the Committee on Ways and Means on what must be our number one domestic priority.

In closing, I want to submit for the record with my statement a letter dated March 1 that I have received from our state legislatures, counties, cities, mayors, and government finance officers. They indicate that they disagree with comments that have been made about the performance of State and local pension plans and request that they be heard on this matter. I hope that the subcommittee will give them an opportunity to clarify the record.