Continuing the Dialogue

[Carolyn Lukensmeyer <carolyn@adss.org>]

National Dialogue Participants:

Thank you for joining us in this discussion under the National Dialogue 
on Social Security. Direct interaction between citizens and their elected 
officials is the most certain way to ensure that our democracy is truly 
representative.   

We are very fortunate to have had Representatives Archer, Becerra, 
Hulshof, and Thurman of the House Ways and Means Committee with us to 
share their own points of view.  

Representatives, I would like to thank you for your candor during this 
dialogue.  I also congratulate you on your agreement on why we should 
address Social Security's solvency issues sooner rather than later.  
Moreover, the consensus you developed on the values to consider in  
reforming Social Security is an impressive step toward true progress on 
this issue.

I would like to ask the Members of Congress to address one final question 
in their closing remarks:

What advice do you have for citizens about how they, as individuals and 
members of groups in their communities, can help keep the focus on the 
Social Security issue in 1999?

In order to meet our goal of helping to keep citizens up to date and 
informed as new pieces of Social Security reform legislation are 
introduced, we will continue the current "Why Reform Now?" roundtable 
under the title "Why Reform Now...Current Legislative Proposals."  As 
this discussion moves forward, we will invite Members of Congress to 
present their proposals to the online public for an open exchange of 
questions and feedback.  

Finally, as you may already know, a parallel discussion involving members 
of key organizations and advocacy groups is already under way in the 
National Dialogue.  We encourage you to get involved in the conversation 
as a way to learn about reform options and organizational positions.  As 
always, we urge you to put forth your own perspective on the issue.

Once again, thank you for your contribution to the success of our 
democracy through the National Dialogue on Social Security.

Best Regards,

Carolyn Lukensmeyer
Executive Director
Americans Discuss Social Security
www.adss.org
carolyn@adss.org