[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S11284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRAMM:
  S.J. Res. 59. A joint resolution to provide for a Balanced Budget 
Constitutional Amendment that prohibits the use of Social Security 
surpluses to achieve compliance; read the first time.


                BALANCED BUDGET CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

  Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a Balanced Budget 
Constitutional Amendment which is designed to protect Social Security. 
Since we last considered a balanced budget amendment in the Senate, we 
have achieved balance in the unified federal budget for the first time 
in 30 years, and have made substantial progress toward achieving 
balance without relying on the surpluses currently accumulating in 
Social Security. For 1998, the most recent projections by the 
Congressional Budget Office show a unified budget surplus of $63 
billion, and an on-budget deficit of just $41 billion when the $104 
billion surplus in Social Security is not counted. This on-budget 
deficit is projected to disappear by 2002 under current budget 
policies.
  The Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment I am introducing today 
is identical to S.J. Res. 1, which received 66 votes in the Senate on 
March 4, 1997, except that surplus revenues in Social Security are not 
counted in determining compliance. It is also identical to the Dorgan 
substitute and Reid perfecting amendments to S.J. Res. 1, which 
received 41 and 44 votes respectively, except that while Social 
Security surpluses are not counted, any deficit in Social Security must 
be offset by an equivalent on-budget surplus. This distinction is 
important because Social Security is projected to begin running cash-
flow deficits in the year 2013.
  The President and a majority of Congress have expressed support for 
balancing the budget without counting Social Security surpluses, and 
now that goal is within our reach. We should take this opportunity to 
approve this Constitutional amendment and send it to the States for 
ratification. This Constitutional amendment would provide the structure 
and enforcement mechanism to allow us to achieve this bipartisan goal.

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