[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 21 (Thursday, March 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      A BILL TO ESTABLISH THE ``PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT''

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM BUNNING

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 5, 1998

  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, The future of Social Security has finally 
taken center stage. In his State of the Union address, the President 
made a bold commitment to save Social Security--reserving 100% of 
future budget surpluses until necessary measures have been taken to 
strengthen the Social Security System.
  Unfortunately, however, somewhere between the State of the Union and 
the drafting of the President's budget proposal, this commitment to 
Social Security got lost in the shuffle.
  The President's budget did nothing to redirect budget surpluses to 
Social Security. It proposed nothing new.
  It included no new Social Security Trust Fund investment strategies 
or any changes to Social Security taxes or spending.
  That's why today, I will introduce legislation to create a new 
treasury account, ``The Protect Social Security Account,'' into which 
each year's budget surpluses will be deposited.
  In essence, my bill would ``wall-off'' budget surpluses so they could 
not be spent until a solution to Social Security is found.
  We have a fantastic window of opportunity--right now--to do what we 
all know we need to do--to reform Social Security to make sure it 
remains solvent beyond the baby boomers--beyond the year 2029--well 
into the next century.
  The fact that, today, we have balanced the budget--and now see the 
potential of significant budget surpluses for the next ten years--gives 
us a golden window of opportunity to strengthen Social Security.
  We should not let that opportunity pass us by. I urge all my 
colleagues to join me in protecting the future of this country's most 
vital program.

                          ____________________