[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 130 (Friday, September 25, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H8722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


      REPUBLICAN TAX CUT PROPOSAL IS AN ASSAULT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, let us make no mistake about it. The 
Republican tax bill is a direct assault on Social Security.
  The budget surplus the Republicans want to use to pay for their tax 
cuts does not exist. The only portion of the Federal budget that is in 
surplus is the Social Security trust fund. In fact, without Social 
Security, the Federal budget would still be in a deficit this year.
  Instead of voting on an $80 billion tax cut that is paid for by 
raiding Social Security, we should pass the Democratic proposal to save 
Social Security first. It would require by law that the entire amount 
of the Social Security surplus in each fiscal year be transferred to 
the Federal Reserve Bank in New York to be held in trust for Social 
Security.
  Mr. Speaker, the point is that Democrats could support many of these 
tax cuts, and we could pass a tax relief bill, if the Republicans 
agreed to do it without using Social Security to pay for it. But they 
will not. They are not going to do that. That is why we have to vote 
down this Republican bill and save Social Security first.

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