I want to associate myself will all of Senator Gregg's comments. The process by which we put together the National Commision on Retirement Policy proposal, which was the precursor to the Kolbe-Stenholm and Senate bipartisan bill, was a truly bipartisan process with a great deal of give and take on both sides. I was quite skeptical of individual accounts for many of the reasons that have been discussed on this board, while my Republican colleagues wanted much more of a private approach. After a great deal of honest give and take and education, all of us coalesced around a compromise position. We have since made further changes to address concerns that have been raised, and we are still open to further change our plan that do not undermine our principles of fiscal responsbility and fairness.
It is possible for both sides to find a middle ground once we can get beyond generic ideological arguments on one side or the other and start discussing the details. I have found that when Members of Congress take the time to carefully examine our plan, they find more to support than they had expected.
