[...]
On NBC, [House Ways & Means Committee Chair Bill] Thomas introduced a new and controversial possibility into the debate by saying that Congress should look at inequities in the system based on race, occupation and gender, because women live longer and blue-collar workers often need to retire earlier. Thomas said he wants to examine "the question of race, in terms of how many years of retirement do you get based upon your race."
"And you ought not to just leave gender off the table because that would be a factor," he said.
[...]