[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 19, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H3360]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             PUT SOCIAL SECURITY FIRST AND POLITICS SECOND

  (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, I said yesterday in my Social 
Security Task Force meeting that I was going to do some yelling and 
screaming about encouraging the American people and this Congress to 
move ahead with Social Security reform. If the American people decide 
that there should be Social Security reform, then we will do it.
  That is what happens in Washington. We have made a tremendous stride 
forward in saying we are not going to spend the Social Security 
surpluses for other government expenditures. But if nobody cares, this 
body and the President are going to spend that money.
  I think it is so important that every community, every senior 
citizen, every young person that is going to end up paying this bill 
start being active, start writing their legislators, start writing the 
President, because we have got to put Social Security first and put 
politics second.

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