[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET AND SOCIAL SECURITY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DAVID M. McINTOSH

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 12, 1998

  Mr. McINTOSH. Mr. Speaker, the President, in his State of the Union 
address, told the American people that he intends to devote the entire 
budget surplus to saving Social Security. But, the American people 
should know that so far his actions have not been consistent with the 
promise.
  In fact, in his recent budget, the President has proposed to spend 
more on the Federal bureaucracy. That's more money for big government 
in Washington, D.C., not for saving Social Security and certainly not 
back in the pockets of hard-working Americans where it belongs.
  The President proposed a 3% increase, on average, in the budgets of 
the 26 Federal agencies under my Subcommittee's jurisdiction alone. For 
some agencies the increases were larger than others--11% more for the 
Department of Energy and 9% more for the EPA. (I have a chart detailing 
the President's requests for these 26 agencies which I would like to 
insert into the record.) I doubt many Americans would consider it a 
priority to send more money to these already-bloated agencies, which 
will use it to create more government red tape.
  Mr. Speaker, we in the Congress must not allow the President to get 
away with this slight of hand--he is trying to secretly use the surplus 
to increase big government, but get credit for using it to save Social 
Security. The President needs to tell the truth to the American 
people--they deserve to know how their money is spent.


               ANALYSIS OF BUDGET REQUESTS FOR AGENCIES UNDER CONGRESSMAN McINTOSH'S OVERSIGHT\1\
                                        [Budget Authority in millions\2\]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Fiscal year     Fiscal year   Percent change
          Department/Independent Agency             Fiscal year     1998 budget     1999 budget     fiscal year
                                                    1997 actual      estimate         request         1998-99
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USDA............................................          60,876          55,859          57,435             2.8
DOD/Army Corps of Engineers.....................           4,157           4,098           3,258            20.5
DOC.............................................           3,759           4,149           4,955            19.4
DOE.............................................          14,082          14,458          16,063            11.1
DOI.............................................           7,411           7,926           7,867            -0.7
DOT (including Surface Transportation Board)....          40,208          42,058          42,610             1.3
    DOT/Surface Transportation Board............              12              14  ..............  ..............
Treasury........................................         380,179         389,289         401,037             3.0
ARC.............................................             160             170              67           -60.6
CEA/EOP.........................................               3               4               4               0
CEQ/EOP.........................................               2               3               3               0
CFTC............................................              55              58              63             8.6
CPSC............................................              42              45              46             2.2
EPA.............................................           6,478           7,176           7,787             8.5
Export-Import Bank of the US....................             758             696             825            18.5
FDIC............................................             -26             -44             -51           -15.9
FTC.............................................              26              24              27            12.5
NCUA............................................               1               1  ..............          -100.0
NTSB............................................              79              49              48             2.0
NRC.............................................              18              19              22            15.8
OPIC/ICDA.......................................            -112            -175            -176            -0.6
SEC.............................................             -62             -50              -5            90.0
SBA.............................................             838             186             680           265.6
TVA.............................................            -291            -841            -946           -12.5
USITC...........................................              41              41              46            12.2
U.S. Trade & Development Agency.................              54              42              50            19.0
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
USTR/EOP........................................              21              23              25             8.7
      Total \4\.................................         518,757         525,264         541,740            3.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Delaware River Basin Commission, Freddie Mac, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, and the Thrift
  Depositor Protection Oversight Board are not included in the President's Budget because they are classified as
  being private; the Federal Reserve System is not included in the President's Budget because of its unique
  status in the conduct of monetary policy.
\2\ Source: Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the U.S. Government Fiscal Year 1999.
\3\ Treasury, USDA, and DOT account for 92.5% of the FY 99 budget request under Congressman McIntosh's
  oversight.