News Release

July 21, 2004

Media Contact: (202) 789-5200

Sweeping Social Security reform bill based on Cato plan
Legislation will be unveiled Thursday on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON -- Reps. Sam Johnson (R-Texas), Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) will introduce sweeping new Social Security reform legislation at a 9:30 a.m. news conference on Thursday, July 22. The legislation will allow younger workers to voluntarily invest their half of the Social Security payroll tax -- 6.2 percent of wages -- through individual accounts. The proposal is based on "The 6.2 Percent Solution: A Plan for Reforming Social Security," a Cato Institute proposal by Michael Tanner, director of Cato's Project on Social Security Choice.

What: Social Security Legislation News Conference
When: 9:30 a.m., Thursday, July 22, 2004
Where: Cannon House Office Building, Room 311
Who: Rep. Sam Johnson
Rep. Pat Toomey
Rep. Jeff Flake
Ed Crane, president, Cato Institute
Stuart M. Butler, vice president, The Heritage Foundation

Tanner and Crane are both available for additional comment on Social Security reform. Please contact the Cato media relations department at 202-789-5200 to arrange an interview.