[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 25, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H584-H585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SOCIAL SECURITY FIRST, BUT NO NEW SPENDING

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, put Social Security first. This is the 
battle

[[Page H585]]

cry of certain leading politicians, and I agree with that. But how can 
we say put Social Security first, and then go out and introduce a whole 
bunch of new spending programs?
  The way our budget is done, Social Security is really not a separate 
trust fund. Right now Social Security has an overpayment in it of about 
$100 billion. When we add that overpayment to the deficit, we come up 
with the sum of zero.
  So let us be honest. Social Security, if taken off budget, still 
leaves us with a deficit.

                              {time}  1030

  It is very important for all of us, young and old, to realize that; 
that when we say the budget is balanced, all we are saying is Social 
Security is part of the general fund.
  If we are going to put Social Security first, we sure do not do that 
and then turn right around, as the President has done, and introduce 
$100 billion in new spending programs. Because that money comes right 
out of Social Security.
  I am sick and tired of Social Security being the political football 
and used to scare all the folks who are on it in the United States of 
America. We need to be honest about it. I believe we need to 
personalize Social Security, we need to have an open dialogue, and we 
need to acknowledge that, right now, the way the accounting is done it 
is being used to offset the deficit.

                          ____________________