[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 5, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H5923-H5924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Taylor of North Carolina). Under a 
previous order of the House, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Smith] is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, usually I am sort of a calm, old 
farmer from Michigan, and I take the ups and downs and the comments of 
what people say pretty casually. This afternoon, though, I was quite 
upset when I heard Secretary Rubin and Secretary Shalala and the 
commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Shirley Chater, in 
effect say that there was not very much trouble with today's report of 
the trustees on Medicare and Social Security.
  The report on Social Security said the fund would technically be 
broke by the year 2029, and the reaction from that group was that, 
look, that gives us a lot of time in the future to make the changes we 
need. Social Security has never been broke.
  I guess, Mr. Speaker, my problem is why are our heads in the sand? 
Why are they putting their heads in the sand? Why are Republicans, why 
are Democrats, not facing up to the issue of saving Social Security?
  Look. Let me tell you what happened back in 1983 before the Greenspan 
Commission started. At that time they said the unfunded liability of 
Social Security would take 1.82 percent of existing payroll to make 
Social Security solvent. Guess what it is today? Today it is up to 2.17 
percent of existing payroll to keep Social Security solvent, and yet 
Secretary Rubin said, well, you know, we have approximately $500 
billion in the trust fund. But there is no money in the trust fund. 
Every dollar of surplus money that comes into that Social Security 
trust fund automatically goes into the general fund and is spent for 
whatever we spend money for in the United States Congress.

  There is no trust fund. The money comes in one month from the FICA 
taxes from current workers, and it goes out immediately that month to 
existing retirees.
  Just think of this. Back in 1945, right after World War II, there 
were 42 people working for every one Social Security retiree. Guess 
what it is today? Today it is three. When the baby-boomers retire, 
around 2013, there is going to be about 2\1/2\ workers. And yet the 
reaction was from one of the questions of the press, ``What do you do 
you when the baby boomers start retiring around 2012 and there is no 
money in the fund? Where are you going to come up with the money,'' 
Secretary Rubin said, ``Look, that interest alone in a separate fund 
will last until 2019.''

[[Page H5924]]

  My colleagues, Mr. Speaker, there is no separate fund. We have used 
up all of the money. If we were to start today to make Social Security 
solvent for the next 75 years, we would have to, if we just looked at 
reducing benefits or increasing taxes, we would have to increase the 
FICA taxes by 16 percent starting today, or we would have to start 
reducing benefits by 14 percent, starting today.
  Now, that is why some of us have decided to introduce a Social 
Security reform bill to gradually increase the retirement age, to allow 
individuals to invest some of that money in their own account.
  I know why they are saying there is no big deal. They do not want to 
disrupt the senior vote for this coming November election. But it is 
not fair to the future. I think the mistake they are making, Mr. 
Speaker, is thinking that senior citizens only care about their own 
economic welfare.
  Here is what I think American senior citizens care about, and that is 
leaving a good world, a good United States, to their kids and their 
grandkids.

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