Statement from Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas Regarding George H. McLain's Pension Scheme, 1950-01-28

Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas criticized Senator Downey for not clearly stating his stance on George H. McLain's pension scheme, which she believes would impoverish elderly citizens. She offered an analysis by Nelson H. Cruikshank, Director of Social Insurance Activities at the American Federation of Labor, who criticized McLain's lack of understanding of social insurance and labeled his characterization of current beneficiaries as "special privilege" groups as inaccurate. Douglas and the AFL-CIO aim to improve the Social Security system rather than completely replace it, as McLain suggests.