[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 16, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H7814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SOCIAL SECURITY

  (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, when I came to this House 10 years ago, 
the Republicans spent a lot of time telling us that we used the Social 
Security money to balance the budget. They said, ``You're masking the 
deficit by moving that money over and using it to balance the budget.''
  Under President Clinton's leadership, we have brought the budget back 
into balance and there appears to be some surplus on the horizon. What 
do the Republicans want to do now? They want to take that money, not 
pay back Social Security but give it away in tax relief.
  Now, when the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means tomorrow 
rolls out this three walnuts game that you see at the county fair, 
where is the pea, the American people are going to watch their Social 
Security moved around so fast in two different bills, it will be 
designed to confuse them. They will put out a bill that says we want to 
put lots of money into balancing the Social Security, and then we just 
want this little teeny bit out here for a tax cut.
  The first money that we have in surplus should go to pay for Social 
Security.

                          ____________________