Hello. My name is Charlie Stenholm. I’m a parent, a grandparent, and for 26 years I served as a Member of Congress. I’d like to share a few thoughts with you about the future of Social Security and how it will affect my children and grandchildren - and yours.

My children are Chris, Cary, and Courtney and her husband Daniel. My grandchildren’s names are Cole, Chase, and Cameron. Along with my wife, Cindy, I believe these are the very best reasons we need to modernize the Social Security retirement system.

Fixing Social Security helps all American families. If we don’t, adequate Social Security benefits will not be there for the next generation. Long before today’s high school graduates are ready to retire, benefits will be cut dramatically.

If we don’t change course and move away from the "pay-as-you-go" route, we’ll be faced with a choice between two evils: either greatly increase the tax burden on young workers, or cut benefits to retired workers.

We don’t have to stay on this road. We can add protected retirement accounts to Social Security. The money that each worker puts into a protected account today will get invested, and grow over time. And best of all, we’ll take our retirement money away from misuse by politicians in Washington. Trust me when I say that’s a good thing.

Here’s what these accounts will look like. Money will be automatically deducted from your paycheck just as it is now. This is not new money you have to find; it’s a portion of the money that currently goes into Social Security from you and your employer.

You will have a small number of investment choices-diversified index funds. You will not be picking individual stocks-each fund consists of hundreds of different companies and you’d own a little bit of each. This protects first-time investors. And remember, these protected accounts will be voluntary.

Will personal accounts protect your money better than the current system?

People fear that the government will find some way to get at your personal account money, either through taxation or outright confiscation. Maybe. But with a personal account, you can keep track of your money, which makes it a lot harder for the government to misuse it. The money is in your own account, is in your name. It’s your property, not part of some vague "trust fund" that even the experts don’t understand.

And since it’s your property, whatever money you don’t use from your account you can pass on to your spouse, kids, or grandkids. It’s important to have a nest egg, and protected accounts help build one. We all want to leave our family with more than memories and photos. This reform will mean that even people who die prematurely have some nest egg to leave to their heirs.

Some people ask: "Won’t it be expensive to move from current system to a more modern one?"

The good news is that if we act now we can manage the transition without cutting benefits to current retirees. Let me explain. Social Security will begin running deficits in about 13 years, but today the Social Security system takes in more money from taxes than it pays out in benefits. If you are working, the Social Security system takes a lot of money from you: over $6,400 from the average American family, according to the latest figures from the government.

Much of that money goes to benefits for today’s seniors, but what’s left over-about one dollar out of every six-the government spends on other things. That leftover money is the "trust fund" you’ve heard about. It’s not saved for you; it is just being spent. This means there is enough money coming into Social Security right now to create personal accounts and keep your grandmother protected at the same time.

Protected accounts will not take your grandmother’s check away. Instead, they will take the "trust fund" away from the politicians, and sock it away for your future.

When I served in Congress, I introduced legislation that would have implemented the system I’ve just described. Won’t you please help me continue the fight and contact your representative and senators to let them know you want to modernize Social Security?

Times have changed. People live longer, and have fewer children. My grandsons and all the other young people deserve as much security as their grandparents enjoy. So let’s move toward change now, and start putting money into personal accounts as soon as we can.

Thank you.