State and local workers should not be forced to participate in Social Security, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said in a letter sent on March 3 to the Senate Finance Committee.

"Requiring [currently uncovered public] employees to participate in Social Security will have adverse effects on them and their families as well as the pension systems that currently guarantee a comfortable retirement," Boxer wrote.

The Finance Committee has jurisdiction over Social Security legislation, which means if any reform bill is to become law, it must have the approval of the panel.

Eleven other senators signed a joint letter that was delivered to the panel on March 3 but Boxer decided to write her own, despite signing on to three similar joint letters in 1999 and 2001.