THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES TWO PUBLIC MEMBERS TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR

THE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE TRUST FUNDS

The President today announced the nomination of John L. Palmer and Thomas R. Saving to serve as public members of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security). They will also be nominated to serve as public members of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund (Medicare).

Dr. John L. Palmer, of Fayetteville, New York, is Dean and Professor of Economics and Public Administration of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Dr. Palmer was a founding member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and served as its President from 1997-1999. He has been a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute. Dr. Palmer served as Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services from 1979-1981. Dr. Palmer received a B.A. degree from Williams College in 1965 and a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Stanford University in 1971.

Dr. Thomas R. Saving, of College Station, Texas, is Director of the Private Enterprise Research Center and Professor of Economics at Texas A&M University. Dr. Saving serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Private Enterprise Education and is a Co-Editor of the journal Economic Inquiry. He is past president of the Southern Economic Association from 1980-1981 and the Western Economic Association from 1971-1972. Dr. Saving received a B.A. degree from Michigan State University in 1957, a M.A. degree from the University of Chicago in 1958, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago in 1960.

The Board is comprised of the Secretaries of the Treasury, of Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of Social Security, and two public members appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Board is responsible for reporting annually to Congress on the financial status of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds, the Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, and the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund. The OASI and DI Trust Funds provide financing for the retirement, survivors, and disability benefits under Social Security, and the HI and SMI Trust Funds finance the Medicare program.

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