[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 88 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 88

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to suspend future reductions 
 of income tax rates if the Social Security surpluses are used to fund 
                          such tax rate cuts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 7, 2003

 Mr. Hollings introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to suspend future reductions 
 of income tax rates if the Social Security surpluses are used to fund 
                          such tax rate cuts.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Senate finds that--
            (1) section 13301 of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 
        specifically precludes the President and Congress from counting 
        Social Security in the budget;
            (2) President Bush promised Congress in his first address 
        to a Joint Session in February 2001 that all Social Security 
        surplus money will be budgeted for Social Security and Social 
        Security only;
            (3) every Senator in the Senate promised not to touch 
        Social Security;
            (4) every candidate in last year's election promised not to 
        touch Social Security;
            (5) it is a felony for corporate America to count 
        retirement accounts as revenues and raid them to run their 
        operations;
            (6) the President, the Cabinet, Congress, and the news 
        media all now use different sets of numbers when reporting the 
        budget, making it difficult for Americans to get a handle on 
        the Government's true financial state; and
            (7) the purpose of this Act is to ensure that no Social 
        Security surpluses shall be used to pay for any further tax 
        cuts.

SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN INCOME TAX RATE REDUCTIONS IN CASE OF 
              FEDERAL ON-BUDGET DEFICIT.

    Section 1(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to rate 
reductions after 2000) is amended by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
paragraph (4) and by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(3) Suspension of rate reductions in case of federal on-
        budget deficit.--Notwithstanding the table contained in 
        paragraph (2)--
                    ``(A) Initial determination.--If the Secretary 
                determines on October 1, 2003, that there exists a 
                Federal on-budget deficit for the fiscal year beginning 
                on such date, the reduction in the rates under such 
                table shall be suspended until the beginning of the 
                first calendar year following the first succeeding 
                October 1 on which it is determined that such a deficit 
                does not exist.
                    ``(B) Subsequent determination.--On October 1 of 
                the year following the first calendar year described in 
                subparagraph (A), if the Secretary determines that a 
                Federal on-budget deficit exists for the fiscal year 
                beginning on such date, the reduction in the rates 
                under such table shall be suspended until the beginning 
                of the first calendar year following the first 
                succeeding October 1 on which it is determined that 
                such a deficit does not exist.
                    ``(C) Data for determination.--Any determination by 
                the Secretary under this paragraph with respect to any 
                fiscal year shall be based on the most recent budgetary 
                data for such fiscal year submitted to Congress under 
                section 1106 of title 31, United States Code.''.
                                 <all>