[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 28 (Thursday, March 6, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   UNFUNDED SOCIAL SECURITY LIABILITY

  (Mr. SMITH of Michigan asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, on the Committee on the Budget, 
just an update of what is happening. Alan Greenspan, the chairman of 
the Federal Reserve, came in day before yesterday. As we know, June 
O'Neill of CBO is coming in today. They are both saying there is a 
difference in the rosy scenario or a more conservative expectation of 
what is going to come in in revenues. Let us take the hard course. Let 
us take the more conservative estimate. Let us start cutting spending.
  I know it is a tough job. We talk about all these expenditures. Let 
me give my colleagues one example: Social Security. We are accumulating 
an additional $380 billion a year increased actuarial debts or unfunded 
liability in Social Security. The longer we put off those decisions, 
the more drastic those solutions are going to have to be in the future.
  I figured it by minute because it is big dollars if you figure the 
$370 billion we are spending a year. Every minute on Social Security we 
are spending $700,000. By 2030 every minute we are going to be spending 
$5,700,000. Let us get at it and solve these problems.

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