[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H5069-H5070]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ON SOCIAL SECURITY

  (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, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. 
Minge) and I, and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Neumann) are 
introducing legislation, H.R. 4033, that makes changes in the way 
government borrows from the Social Security trust fund.
  It does two things. It provides that from now on when we calculate 
whether there is a budget surplus or deficit, OMB and CBO, the 
administration and Congress, shall not consider the money we borrow 
from the Social Security trust fund as revenue in determining whether 
or not there is a deficit or surplus.
  The other provision in that bill says that from now on when we borrow 
any

[[Page H5070]]

money from the Social Security trust fund, it is going to be in the 
form of marketable Treasury bills rather than the blank IOUs that we 
have been using in the past.
  If the current revenue spending stream continues, it would mean, for 
the first time in many years, we could have a balanced budget without 
considering the $90 billion borrowed from Social Security. It is the 
right track, and we need to keep on that track by passing H.R. 4033. 
Let us be very honest and clear, borrowing from the Social Security 
should not be considered revenue and the amount borrowed should be 
secured by marketable Treasury bills rather than the existing 
politically dependent nonmarketable IOUs.

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