Comment on Kolbe-Stenholm bill

[National Dialogue Moderator <moderator>]

Maureen West has asked for comments on how well this bill addresses 
issues related to women.  I feel that the increase in the widow's 
benefit is extremely important.  Her comment also indicates that a 
provision to increase the widow's benefit may be added to the bill, 
and I would like to encourage them to do that.  Without such a 
provision, I have difficult endorsing any bill as addressing women's 
issues.

I am pleased to see the increase in the minimum benefit, and feel that 
such an increase is important to women.  One of the things the current 
system does not do is to enable a woman who was a homemaker or giver 
for some years and a worker for others to effectively get credit for 
all of those years.  The increase in the minimum does not address that 
directly, but is something of a patch which will help. 

I do not have enough information to determine how much the savings 
provisions help.   Generally, where money is saved, it is the higher 
earners who get the savings.  I want to know if they plan to support 
sharing the savings for a given year between spouses in a couple?


Anna Rappaport