Now with the late Friday announcement of the second confirmed case of mad cow disease in the U.S. -- a high-profile example of the need for regulatory protections of the public interest, and a reminder of the consequences of government inaction -- it makes sense to look over the latest news on another food safety danger: Listeria. The White House has inexplicably put the already weak protections against Listeria on a hit list of regulatory safeguards to be weakened or eliminated.

While the legislation proposed by Sen. DeMint has the support of the Ways and Means Committee, it varies slightly from what the House intends to propose in a bill sometime in the future. Both however, will call for the creation of private accounts. The DeMint legislation, according to aides, would end the prevailing practice of reducing the deficit by the size of the Social Security surplus, since the obligations to the accounts would be treated as regular outlays. The government, however, could continue to spend the surplus on other needs, since the money would be invested in treasury bonds (just as payroll taxes are today). His plan also calls for the creation of an independent board which could offer individuals the opportunity to diversify the accounts into stocks or other investments. Chairman of the Finance Committee, Sen. Grassley (R-IA), has not yet specifically endorse the DeMint proposal, and it is unclear as of right now how the Finance and Ways and Means Committees will work together to reach a consensus on these ideas. In a statement, Grassley said, "I want to pass legislation that makes Social Security solvent along with personal accounts if possible, and that obviously goes further than this legislation does." Finance Committee ranking member Max Baucus (D-MT) characterized the DeMint plan as being part of a "bait-and-switch" strategy that will likely see the House approve a private account plan and wrap it in a non-amendable conference report to try to force enactment. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) released a statement saying the proposal would do nothing to address solvency issues, and "would actually weaken Social Security's solvency by diverting the surpluses that are expected over the next several years and depleting the Social Security Trust Fund even sooner." Baucus' point has been supported by evidence elsewhere, most notably by Jason Furman of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Furman has stated that the DeMint proposal would drain $600 billion from the Social Security trust fund in the first ten years it is in effect. He stated it will also increase the deficit to nearly $500 billion in 2007. Much of the cost would be administrative, with Furman noting that thousands of new federal employees would be needed to administer the accounts. Furman presented many of these points and more in his recent testimony before the Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security.