Our country also hungers for leadership to ensure the long-term survival of our Social Security system. With 70 million baby boomers in this country on the verge of retirement, we need to take action to shore up the system.

Until the president and the Republican leadership agree that their misguided attempt to privatize Social Security is over and they will no longer pursue their previously announced bait-and-switch strategy, Democrats will continue to refuse to enter negotiations over Social Security,

Our country also hungers for leadership to ensure the long-term survival of our Social Security system. With 70 million baby boomers in this country on the verge of retirement, we need to take action to shore up the system.

The major impact of Sept. 11 on privatization is the disappearance of the Social Security surplus, ... Before the attacks, it was questionable whether we had enough money available to pay for the transition to privatization. This makes the issue even more difficult.

We can set aside a surplus to save Social Security or Medicare, or we can pass the burden of the baby boomers retirement off on to our children,

I believe keeping our promises should be our highest priority and that means saving Social Security and Medicare while preserving the American dream for our children and grandchildren.