FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2012
CONTACT: Shripal Shah, 202-485-3129

Heather Wilson Tries to Re-Write Her Record on Social Security

The Real Wilson Agenda: Privatize Social Security, Tax Breaks for Wealthiest Americans, Rubberstamp Republican Policies

Heather Wilson knows that her agenda is wrong for New Mexico’s middle class so she’s now trying to cover it up. This weekend it was reported that Heather Wilson falsely claimed she has never supported privatizing Social Security even though she has supported Social Security privatization plans repeatedly in the past. Wilson also continues to give her tacit support to a dangerous Republican plan to gut Medicare which would force New Mexico seniors to pay $5,900 more annually for their health care. However, Wilson is making one thing clear: she wants to protect tax breaks for millionaires and corporations that ship American jobs overseas.

“Congresswoman Heather Wilson can run but she can’t hide from her misplaced priorities that put billionaires ahead of New Mexico’s middle class,” said Shripal Shah, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “The fact is that Wilson would be a rubber stamp for the partisan Washington Republican agenda which includes privatizing Social Security, gutting Medicare, and protecting tax breaks for millionaires.”

Wilson and her fellow Republicans in Washington are pushing policies that would be disastrous for New Mexico’s middle class and Heather Wilson knows it. That’s why she’s trying to cover her tracks with misleading rhetoric. But New Mexico voters won’t be fooled. They know that her long record in Washington speaks for itself and that right-wing special interests are propping up her campaign because they know she’ll do their bidding in Washington.

“If New Mexicans send Heather Wilson back to Washington, there is no doubt that she would support the dangerous Republican agenda that calls for deep Medicare cuts and privatizing Social Security in order to preserve tax breaks for millionaires and companies that ship jobs overseas. That’s exactly why right wing special interests are spending so much money to prop up her campaign,” added Shah. “She’s not fooling anyone when she falsely claims that she’d be bipartisan and independent because her record speaks for itself.”

BACKGROUND:

Despite Her Desperate Spin, Heather Wilson Has A History Of Support For Privatizing Social Security
BuzzFeed: “Former Congresswoman Heather Wilson says she's never supported privatizing Social Security, but her record indicates an openness to doing just that.” [BuzzFeed, 6/20/12]

Wilson Supported Private Accounts in 1998, And In 2002 Said She Was “Still Willing To Consider Such A Plan.” According to the Albuquerque Journal, “In 1998, Wilson told an Albuquerque newspaper she supported ‘innovative approaches that would allow working people to put at least some of their Social Security payments into personalized pension funds.’ A Wilson spokesman said the congresswoman is still willing to consider such a plan.” [Albuquerque Journal, 11/1/02]

Wilson Called for Private Accounts in 1999. In 1999, Wilson called for the creation of Social Security private accounts. Wilson called for Personalizing Social Security, “so that an account that you’ve been paying into your whole working life is yours - or in some way yours, with your name on it, which is not the way it is now.” Wilson added, “But at the same time it should remain a social insurance program, not a stock option fund. It is the safety net.” [AP, 1/9/99]

Wilson Supported Cut, Cap, & Balance Plan That Would Force Deep Cuts To Social Security And Medicare While Protecting Tax Breaks For Millionaires And Big Corporations. In June 2011, Wilson released a video announcing her signing of the Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “It is inconceivable, however, that policymakers would meet the bill’s severe annual spending caps through automatic across-the board cuts year after year; if they did, key government functions would be crippled. Policymakers would have little alternative but to institute deep cuts in specific programs. […] Reaching and maintaining a balanced budget in the decade ahead while barring any tax increases would necessitate deep cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.” [Heather Wilson Youtube Channel, accessed 8/15/11; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 7/16/11]

CBPP President: Cut, Cap And Balance “Protects Tax Breaks And Tax Subsidies For The Wealthy And Powerful.” In a July 2011 statement, Robert Greenstein, president of the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said “The [Cut, Cap and Balance] bill overturns a feature of various bipartisan budget laws over the past quarter century, by subjecting programs for the poorest Americans to the specter of meat-axe across-the-board cuts. It does so even as it protects tax breaks and tax subsidies for the wealthy and powerful by erecting a constitutional barrier to any measure that would raise any revenue.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Robert Greenstein Statement, 7/16/11]

CBPP: “Because Taxes … Would Be Virtually Impossible To Raise As A Result Of The New Constitutional Barrier, Social Security Solvency Would Have To Be Restored Entirely Through Benefit Cuts.” According to a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities statement on the Cut, Cap and Balance Plan, “Moreover, because taxes — including payroll taxes — would be virtually impossible to raise as a result of the new constitutional barrier, Social Security solvency would have to be restored entirely through benefit cuts. Balanced Social Security packages that include measures to raise Social Security’s $106,000 payroll tax cap, so that higher-income Americans do not escape the tax on much of their earnings, would effectively be ruled out.” [CBPP, 7/16/11]

By Continually Refusing To Give New Mexicans A Straight Answer, Wilson Is Giving Her Tacit Support For A Budget That Would End Medicare As We Know It, Raise Out-Of-Pocket Costs For New Mexico Seniors And Cut Taxes For Millionaires And Companies That Ship American Jobs Overseas
292,009 New Mexican Seniors Would Be Forced Onto Vouchers When They Retire. Starting in 2023, all New Mexico seniors will receive a voucher to purchase either private insurance or traditional Medicare. There are more than 292,009 near-elderly New Mexicans who are now ages 47-56 who, instead of getting Medicare as we know it when they retire, would only get a voucher to purchase their insurance. Private insurance plans will aggressively pursue the healthiest, least expensive enrollees, thereby allowing Medicare – currently the lifeline for 316,973 New Mexico seniors – to “wither on the vine.” [CBPP 3/20/12, Census, accessed on 3/20/12; CBPP 12/21/11; KFF, accessed on 3/21/12; NCPSSM, 3/20/12 via Democratic Policy and Communications Center,3/22/12]

For New Mexico Seniors, Republican Budget Will Increase Out of Pocket Costs By As Much As $5,900 Per Senior. The Republican budget would cap these vouchers for individuals at growth levels that are lower than the existing increases in health care costs. In other words, seniors could be forced to pay higher premiums in order to access the same benefits they would receive under the current system. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the plan could increase out of pocket costs by $5,900 and lead to diminished access to quality care. [CBO, 3/20/12; CBPP, 12/21/11; CAP, 3/20/12 via Democratic Policy and Communications Center,3/22/12]

Republican Budget Will Force 27,023 New Mexico Seniors Back Into the Prescription Drug “Donut Hole.” The Republican budget would “re-open” the prescription drug donut hole and cost the average senior who falls into the donut hole approximately $11,794 between 2012 and 2020. The “donut hole” forces seniors to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs after their yearly drug expenses exceed $2,840, and full coverage doesn’t resume until total drug spending hits $6,447 for the year. Since health reform was signed into law, 27,023 New Mexico seniors saved $14,727,323.14 on prescription drugs. [HHS, 3/19/12; State level data compiled by HHS, 3/20/12 via Democratic Policy and Communications Center,3/22/12]

Budget Would Cut Taxes for the Wealthy and Raise Taxes on the Middle Class. According to the Center for American Progress, “Hidden in the document released today by House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) is a proposal to cut taxes for the wealthy and raise taxes for the middle class. Nowhere in the document does it spell that out. But it’s a matter of simple math. Any tax plan that purports to hold revenues steady while massively cutting taxes for the rich must make up the lost revenue by raising taxes on people who are not rich… The result would be a massive tax shift from the wealthy to the middle class, accelerating the income inequality that plagues our economy.” [Center for American Progress, 3/20/12]

The Ryan Budget Would “Nearly Eliminate U.S. Taxes On American Corporations’ Earnings From Overseas Operations.” In March 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported, “House Republicans, searching for an election-year message amid a muddled political and economic landscape, will introduce a 2013 budget Tuesday that cuts tax rates and provides for just two individual brackets of 10% and 25%. The budget would end the Alternative Minimum Tax, which originally was aimed at the wealthy but ensnares a growing number of middle-class taxpayers each year. The plan would nearly eliminate U.S. taxes on American corporations' earnings from overseas operations” [Wall Street Journal, 3/20/12]

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