[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5252 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5252

    To protect the Social Security trust funds by ensuring that the 
            Government repays its debts to the trust funds.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2002

  Mr. Waxman (for himself, Mr. Matsui, and Mr. Rangel) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 
  and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To protect the Social Security trust funds by ensuring that the 
            Government repays its debts to the trust funds.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Social Security Preservation Act of 
2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the Federal budget has moved from surplus to deficit, 
        causing social security trust funds financed by payroll taxes 
        to be used to fund the deficit;
            (2) as a result of the return to deficit, the Treasury may 
        have to borrow nearly $2 trillion from the social security 
        trust funds to use for other Government expenditures over the 
        next 10 years;
            (3) statements by the Secretary of the Treasury that the 
        trust funds have ``no assets'' and the social security program 
        is a ``pyramid game'' and by congressional leaders that the 
        trust funds are ``empty'', a ``total fraud'', and consist of 
        ``worthless IOUs'' cast doubt on whether social security 
        beneficiaries can rely upon the Treasury to pay its debts to 
        the social security trust funds; and
            (4) the Treasury's failure to pay its debts to the social 
        security trust funds would result in cuts in social security 
        benefits payments to American families as early as 2017.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are:
            (1) to repudiate statements made by Government leaders that 
        the social security program has ``no assets'';
            (2) to require an annual Congressional vote affirming the 
        Government's commitment to honoring its debts to the social 
        security trust funds;
            (3) to require the President to explain how the Treasury 
        will repay loans from the social security trust funds and how 
        legislation signed by the President affects repayment;
            (4) to require an annual affirmation by the Secretary of 
        the Treasury of the Government's commitment to honoring its 
        debts to the social security trust funds; and
            (5) to provide Americans who have paid social security 
        taxes with the right to bring an action in court to force the 
        Secretary of the Treasury to honor the Government's debts to 
        the social security trust funds.

SEC. 3. REPUDIATION.

    To dispel any public confusion, the Congress hereby repudiates--
            (1) the statements of the Secretary of the Treasury, Paul 
        O'Neill, that the social security program is a ``pyramid game'' 
        and that the social security trust funds have ``no assets''; 
        and
            (2) the statements of congressional leaders that the social 
        security trust funds are ``empty'', a ``total fraud'', ``a mere 
        accounting device'', and consist of ``worthless IOUs''.

SEC. 4. ANNUAL CONGRESSIONAL AFFIRMATION.

    No amounts borrowed from the social security trust funds may be 
used by the Treasury to pay for other Government expenditures in a 
fiscal year, unless, during the 9-month period immediately preceding 
the start of that fiscal year, the Congress has enacted legislation 
explicitly affirming that the Treasury will repay these funds.

SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT BY THE PRESIDENT.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of the amendment made by subsection (b) 
is to require the President to report annually to Congress on plans for 
repaying the funds the Treasury has borrowed from the social security 
trust funds.
    (b) Amendment.--Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(35) the total amount the Treasury has borrowed from the 
        social security trust funds, an explanation of the plans for 
        repaying the amount borrowed from the social security trust 
        funds, and an explanation of the impact any legislation the 
        President signed into law in the preceding year will have on 
        the plans for repaying the social security trust funds.''.

SEC. 6. COMMITMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY TO HONOR THE 
              GOVERNMENT'S DEBT TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUNDS.

    Whenever the Board of Trustees of the social security trust funds 
submits its annual report to Congress pursuant to section 201(c) of the 
Social Security Act on the status of such trust funds during the 
preceding fiscal year and the expected operation and status during the 
ensuing 5 fiscal years, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a 
statement to Congress containing an affirmation that the Treasury will 
honor the securities in such trust funds.

SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT THAT THE GOVERNMENT REPAY THE SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST 
              FUNDS.

    Section 201(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(d)) is 
amended by inserting after the sixth sentence the following new 
sentence: ``Any individual who is credited with wages or self-
employment income under this title may bring an action in an 
appropriate Federal district court to enjoin any act or practice by the 
Secretary of the Treasury by which the Secretary contests an obligation 
issued for purchase by either Trust Fund under this subsection or which 
constitutes a failure to provide for redemption of the obligation in 
accordance with the terms of such obligation or to otherwise honor the 
full faith and credit of the United States supporting such 
obligation.''.

SEC. 8. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--As used in this Act--
            (1) Social security trust funds.--The term ``social 
        security trust funds'' refers to the Federal Old-Age and 
        Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability 
        Insurance Trust Fund.
            (2) Other government expenditures.--The term ``other 
        Government expenditures'' means all Government expenditures 
        other than expenditures for the old-age, survivors, and 
        disability insurance program under title II of the Social 
        Security Act. Such term does not include amounts expended to 
        pay down the Government debt.
    (b) Interpretation.--For purposes of this Act, amounts borrowed 
from the social security trust funds shall be considered to be used for 
other Government expenditures if there is a deficit in the non-Social 
Security budget.
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