[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 96 (Thursday, July 1, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7974-S7980]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GUIDANCE FOR THE DESIGNATION OF EMERGENCIES AS A PART OF THE BUDGET
PROCESS--Motion to Proceed
Cloture Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 1 hour for debate prior to
cloture vote on the motion to proceed. The time will be equally divided
between the two leaders.
The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I may need to
make an initial statement. Then we will have speakers on our side and
work with the Democratic side to work out the remainder of the time.
Today is the 73rd day since we began the process of trying to move
forward with a Social Security lockbox. I think, from every indication,
we finally will begin to make some progress this morning. I hope this
will be a rapid process from this point forward, that things will not
be delayed much longer, and we can quickly come to some type of
agreement for orderly consideration of this proposal.
It is vitally important we not delay any longer. Since we introduced
this amendment on April 20, the following has taken place: $22.2
billion more of the Social Security surplus or almost 20 percent of
this year's surplus has been put in danger of being raided. The House
voted 416 to 12 to pass their own version of a lockbox, a version that
we could not consider in this body. The President himself has endorsed
the idea of a lockbox and stated that Social Security taxes should be
saved for Social Security. Yesterday, the Democratic leader indicated
the Democrats would not block this motion to proceed. So I see this as
a positive.
What I have to say is very simple. It is clear that Americans,
regardless of where they might live, believe their Social Security
dollars ought to be used for Social Security. I cannot imagine there is
a Member of the Senate who does not hear that message when talking to
seniors in their States or, for that matter, when talking to anyone who
is paying payroll taxes. The American people are frustrated when they
hear that money they send here for Social Security is being spent on
other programs. To some extent, this was justified during the period in
which we were running budget deficits. But today we are not. Today we
are running surpluses. The latest news is good news. It seems to me it
even further justifies creating a lockbox to make sure none of these
Social Security dollars are any longer spent on anything except Social
Security. The only way to do it, in my view, is to pass legislation
such as S. 557, such as the proposal that will be before us today.
So I ask my colleagues to not only give us the chance to move forward
on this legislation but to work together to craft a proposal as soon as
we possibly can so we can be sure these Social Security dollars do not
get spent on other programs. It is a very attractive thing, to talk of
new programs, of expanding existing programs, and so on, because today
we are in a period of economic prosperity and we are running surpluses.
But we should take this opportunity, in my view, to at least fence off
the Social Security surplus so it cannot be used for other programs. I
am hopeful today we can take an important step toward that end so I can
go back to Michigan and tell the people in my State their Social
Security payroll tax dollars are going to be protected. That is what I
want to do. I suspect that is what a lot of other Members of the
Chamber want to do.
I am hopeful that after today, once we get through the recess period,
we will move expeditiously to finish the job. Social Security dollars
ought to be spent on Social Security. We should move as quickly as
possible to make that the case. So I am very optimistic, if we are
successful with the cloture vote today, we can move in that direction.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time? The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I yield such time as he may need to the
Senator from Missouri.
[[Page S7975]]
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri is recognized.
Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Michigan for
his outstanding leadership on this issue.
Today the Senate will vote for the fifth time to stop filibusters on
legislation to protect Social Security trust funds. It is time for us
to stop, to end the delay. It is time for us to align ourselves with
the American people who overwhelmingly want us to protect the money
they put into the Social Security trust fund and to reserve it for
Social Security payments. We should pass this bill so protecting Social
Security will be the law of the land. It is time to build a tough law,
a firewall if you will, between politicians' desires to spend and the
Social Security trust fund.
There is no addiction more pervasive in this city than the spending
of money. It is a tough habit to break, but we are in a position to do
so. We are in a position to say we can manage our affairs without this
money; let us make a commitment forever to break this habit of spending
the Social Security trust funds.
President Clinton's proposed budget in January would have spent $158
billion in Social Security surplus over the next 5 years out of the
trust fund, but, thank goodness, this last week President Clinton
announced that he does not want to do that. That concept is no longer
his plan. Instead of spending that $158 billion over 5 years in other
projects, he said he wants to reserve it for Social Security--every
penny for Social Security. ``Social Security taxes should be saved for
Social Security, period.''
What a tremendous concept. It is one which we have been working on
and we have been working to pass. The President has announced his
support for it. It is a general concept which the House of
Representatives has supported. In its recent vote a couple weeks ago,
the House voted 416-12.
We look for bipartisan things to do in this city, things that unite
us instead of divide us, things that mobilize the American people,
things that find common objectives and common ground. Here is an item
the American people overwhelmingly endorse. Here is an item on which
the House of Representatives really reflects the American people, 416-
12. That is an overwhelming vote. And the President of the United
States endorses the lockbox.
What is interesting is that the President's endorsement is of the
lockbox. He just did not say we should not spend Social Security as a
general concept or a general idea or a principle by which we operate
Government. When we talk about a lockbox, we are talking about
institutionalizing the prohibition, not just saying this is something
we hope to do in future years. By saying we want to build a lockbox, we
have to build a structure for protecting Social Security, and that is
something the President has said he wants--a structure, a lockbox,
something that keeps us from making these expenditures.
For the past 6 months, this Congress has been devoted to protecting
all the Social Security surplus. In January, congressional Republicans
began working to ensure that Congress would protect every penny of the
surplus. In March, Senator Domenici and I introduced S. 502, called the
Protect Social Security Benefits Act, which would have instituted a
point of order preventing Congress from spending any Social Security
dollars for non-Social Security purposes.
What does a point of order mean? A point of order means that if there
is a point of order and someone tries to do it, the Chair, the
Presiding Officer, can say it is out of order. Most Americans have been
part of some kind of meeting somewhere when someone brought something
up that was out of order. The gavel goes down, and the person presiding
over the meeting says: We are not going to discuss that; that is not a
part of what we do. There is a point of order against it. It is out of
order, and you move on to something else.
That is the way we propose to treat proposals that will spend the
Social Security surplus. We will simply say: We don't do that; it is
against our rules; it is out of order, we will move on to something
else. That was S. 502.
Then in April, together with Senator Domenici, the Senate passed a
budget resolution that did not spend any of the Social Security
surpluses for the next decade. Included in the resolution was language
endorsing the idea of locking away the Social Security surpluses, sort
of a rules of the Senate lockbox but not a statutory lockbox. A
statutory lockbox, of course, would bind the House, the Senate, and the
President. This language passed the Senate with unanimous approval.
Also in April, Senators Abraham, Domenici, and I offered the Social
Security lockbox amendment which would have added executive
responsibilities to the congressional requirement to protect the Social
Security surpluses. By ``executive responsibilities,'' we were really
saying the President had to submit a budget that did not invade the
Social Security surplus as part of the President's plan.
The Senate has voted on the Abraham-Domenici-Ashcroft plan three
times so far, and I believe we will agree to the motion to proceed
today. But until today, the Senate has filibustered, has said we will
not go there. Frankly, the President of the United States wants to go
there, the American people want to go there. The President had the
courage to reverse his position, first saying, ``I want to spend some
of that money,'' then saying, ``No, we should reserve every cent for
Social Security, period.''
On May 26, the House of Representatives, reflecting, I believe, the
people of America--and that is really what we are supposed to do in
many respects; that is why we are sent here--overwhelmingly passed H.R.
1259, Congressman Herger's measure to protect the surpluses. The vote
in that case, as I have already mentioned, was 416-12. That means for
every 100 votes in favor of the measure, there were only 3 votes
against the measure. Mr. President, 100 to 3 is a pretty strong margin.
That is a bipartisan consensus. This reflects the will of the people.
On June 10, Democrats in the Senate blocked the Herger measure. They
voted against moving even to consider it.
It is time we stop this kind of parliamentary maneuver. We all know
what the will of the American people is. We know what the clear
statement of the President of the United States is. We know what we
have done on five previous occasions, refusing to discuss it. Today we
should vote to move forward on this issue.
The lockbox will accomplish an important goal: Protect Social
Security taxes. It will reserve those taxes for Social Security, and
Social Security alone, so that when someday those who need Social
Security want to call on this Government for the payment of their
benefit, the Government will be stronger, having less debt, having more
discipline, having a greater capacity to meet its obligations and to
honor the commitments made under Social Security.
Those who say they want to protect Social Security should join us in
our efforts to save every dime--no, let me correct that--every penny,
every cent of this money for Social Security's future beneficiaries.
This lockbox is a way to make this happen.
Congress has been moving to create a Social Security lockbox this
entire year. President Clinton has now stated he agrees with us, and I
welcome the support of the President and Senate Democrats in finishing
the Nation's business in supporting the toughest possible lockbox
measure, one that protects not 20 percent, not 40 percent, not 60
percent, not 80 percent, not 99 percent, but 100 percent of the Social
Security surpluses, protects them so they are available to meet the
responsibilities of the Social Security system.
Mr. President, I yield the floor and reserve the remainder of the
time of those in support of the motion.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from
North Dakota.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota is recognized
for 5 minutes.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I do not oppose the motion to proceed. I
expect the Senate will perhaps vote unanimously to proceed on this
issue, but I do want to give some historic perspective to this issue of
a lockbox.
I proposed a lockbox amendment in 1983. I offered an amendment the
day
[[Page S7976]]
when the Ways and Means Committee passed the Social Security reform
package in 1983. I said: If we do not put this extra Social Security
money away, it will be used as part of the operating budget and it will
not be saved. My amendment lost in the Ways and Means Committee in
1983. So this is not a new idea.
One of the interesting things about this debate is, it was not too
many years ago that we debated a constitutional amendment to balance
the budget in the Senate. I voted against that, and the constitutional
amendment lost by one vote. I went through some very interesting times
politically back home and across the country because I cast a vote that
defeated the constitutional amendment to balance the budget.
One of the points I continued to make in the Senate as we debated
that--and I was accused of talking about gimmicks and using gimmicks at
that point--was the constitutional amendment to balance the budget was
written in a way that said all revenue that comes into the Federal
Government shall be considered revenue for the purposes of the budget.
There was no distinction between Social Security moneys and other
moneys; it is all operating budget revenue. To the extent we require a
balanced budget, it means we can use the Social Security money as
ordinary revenue and then we can claim we balanced the budget. I said
that is writing in the Constitution the invitation to continue doing
what we have been doing, which is looting Social Security.
What I heard in response was no. There were three stages of denial:
First, we deny we are looting Social Security. That was the first
stage of denial.
The second was: Well, even though we deny it, if, in fact, we are
doing it, we promise to quit.
And the third stage of denial was: We insist we are not doing it, but
if we are doing it, we promise to quit. And if we can't quit it, we
will at least taper off.
Those were the three stages of denial in the Senate.
Because those of us who said, we will not write into the Constitution
an amendment that permits forever the use of Social Security trust
funds as part of the operating budget, we were told: Well, would it be
all right if we said we will keep using the Social Security trust funds
for the next 12 years? I said: No, that would not be all right. So that
was the debate back a few years ago.
Now we come to a debate today, and the folks who then called our
position on Social Security revenues a gimmick are now proposing a
lockbox. I say, I think we should have a lockbox. But I do not think
you ought to do a lockbox in isolation. I think you should have a
lockbox with respect to the Social Security revenues so they cannot be
used for ordinary operating revenue. That money is taken from workers'
paychecks. It is called Social Security dedicated taxes. It goes into a
dedicated fund and ought not be available under any circumstances for
any other purposes. That is the point we made on the constitutional
amendment to balance the budget.
I have some charts here, that I will not use, that describe what was
told to us during that debate: Gee, you're standing up talking about
gimmicks. Of course you have to use the Social Security money as part
of the regular budget in order to balance the budget. You can't balance
the budget without using Social Security money.
History, of course, shows that was nonsense. But here we are, and the
question is the lockbox. We ought to have a lockbox. We ought to do
several things at the same time, however. Because I worry. I see this
week Reuters has a press story: ``How Republicans Propose $1 trillion
in tax cuts.'' If you do a lockbox on Social Security revenues only and
then say, all right, now we have locked away Social Security revenues
only, and we propose $1 trillion in tax cuts, the question in two areas
is: What have you done to extend the life of Social Security? And what
have you done in this fiscal policy to extend the life of Medicare?
Unfortunately, the answer in both cases could be, you have done
nothing to save for Medicare; and while you might have given $1
trillion in tax cuts, you may have done nothing to extend, even by 1
year, the Social Security program.
So let us do a couple of things. Let us do--together--a lockbox. I
support that. I was ridiculed for it back in the constitutional
amendment debate, but I have always supported it. I supported it going
back to 1983 when I offered the amendment to do it in the House Ways
and Means Committee. But let us not just do the lockbox. Let's do the
lockbox the right way. Secondly, let us make sure that some of the
additional revenue that is available extends the life of Medicare and
extends the life of Social Security. I ask unanimous consent for 2
additional minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DORGAN. This would provide a guarantee that the revenue stream
for Social Security is available only for Social Security; that is, the
tax money that is available for it goes only into the Social Security
trust fund and can be used only for that purpose.
But it would do two other things as well. It would say, let us use
some additional resources not just for a $1 trillion tax cut but also
to extend the life of Social Security and the life of Medicare. Doing
both of these things, I think, will give the American people the
reassurance that both of these programs, which have been so important
in the lives of so many Americans in this country, will be available
for many years to come.
I do not think, as I said when I started, there will be a debate here
on whether we should proceed. Let's proceed. I expect the motion to
proceed will carry, perhaps unanimously. We will have a debate on the
lockbox issue.
But my point is, let us not debate that in isolation. Let us debate
it with the eye on this ball: That we need to extend the life of Social
Security and extend the life of Medicare, even as we do what we should
have done long ago; and that is, make certain that no Social Security
revenues are used for any purpose other than the solvency of the Social
Security system itself. That is what workers expect. That is the basis
on which money is taken from their paychecks and put into a dedicated
tax fund. That is what senior citizens expect from this program, which
was a solemn promise made to them many decades ago.
I thank the Senator from New Jersey for the time. I look forward to
the debate following the motion to proceed.
Mr. LAUTENBERG addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Grams). The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. I yield myself such time as is necessary to make some
remarks.
Mr. President, I say thank you to the distinguished Senator from
North Dakota because he kind of hit the nail on the head. Let's get on
with this debate. That is the question. And whether or not we disguise
it in terms of votes to the public at large--and cloture votes and
things of that nature may seem rather arcane to the public--the main
thing is to get on with the discussion.
I am supporting the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 557,
which is the legislation to reform the budget rules governing emergency
spending. I am going to support cloture on the motion to move ahead
with this--we call it a motion to proceed--to get on with the debate,
not only because I support the underlying legislation, which amends the
rules governing emergency spending but, more importantly, because like
most, if not all, Democrats, I strongly support the establishment of a
Social Security and Medicare lockbox. It is time for a real debate to
occur on a lockbox. And I look forward to that debate.
Democrats have long argued that protecting Social Security and
Medicare should be Congress' top priority. We believe that strongly. We
simply must prepare our country for the impending retirement of the
baby boomers. We ought to do it now, particularly since we are going
through this incredible prosperity, a prosperity never before seen in
this country.
To help achieve that goal, Senator Conrad and I proposed our own
version of a Social Security and Medicare lockbox. It is a lockbox that
reserves the surpluses for both Social Security and Medicare--reserves
them; you cannot touch them--without creating the threat of what is now
proposed, which could be a Government-wide default.
[[Page S7977]]
Our lockbox has much stricter enforcement than the weak one that was
approved by the House of Representatives.
Early this week, President Clinton also proposed to establish a
Social Security and Medicare lockbox. His proposal not only would
prevent Congress from spending Social Security surpluses in any year,
but it would extend the solvency of the trust fund to the year 2053.
Although all of the details of the President's plan have not been
worked out yet, I strongly support his general approach. I am hopeful
it can win with bipartisan support. We would like to see it that way.
The distinguished Senator from Michigan, Senator Abraham, and Senator
Domenici have proposed a different version of a lockbox which has been
offered as an amendment to the previous bill S. 557. Unfortunately,
their lockbox is seriously openable. In fact, as Treasury Secretary
Rubin has written, instead of protecting Social Security benefits,
their lockbox actually would threaten benefits. That is because it
could trigger a Government-wide default based on factors beyond
Congress' control.
Such a default would make it impossible to pay Social Security
benefits. They can call it what they will--lockbox, cash drawer,
whatever--but it will still impair the possibility, at some point, to
pay the Social Security benefits. The issue before the Senate today
isn't whether we are for or against the Abraham-Domenici lockbox. It is
not whether we are for or against the Democratic lockbox. The issue is
whether we should proceed to a debate about lockbox legislation at all.
I believe we should. It should be an open debate. Senators should have
the right to offer amendments, but we should go ahead and get that
debate underway.
In the past, the majority has tried to stifle that debate and to push
through their own version of a lockbox without giving the Democrats and
the American people an opportunity to present and to consider
amendments. We Democrats have rightly resisted that. We cannot be
gagged, and we will not be locked out of the legislative process,
especially on an issue as important as protecting Social Security.
Having said that, nobody should doubt the commitment of Senate
Democrats to support a Social Security and Medicare lockbox. I take a
moment here to identify what a lockbox is to represent: a place you
can't invade for any other reason except to make sure that Social
Security is there for the longest period of time available for those
who are paying into this system, the money to pay those benefits is
going to be there.
Another major concern of the American public, the elderly public
particularly, is Medicare. Will it run out of funds before the 50-year-
old is there to have his or her health care protected? That is what we
are debating. We ought not to be talking about process. We ought to be
talking about what are the promises that we are trying to fulfill.
One is that Social Security will be there when you get there and you
want it and you need it. Two is that Medicare is there to help protect
the health of an aging population.
I expect there is going to be a very strong vote on this side of the
aisle in support of moving to proceed to that debate. Unfortunately,
what we have heard is that the majority will then file cloture on the
bill itself. Another explanation. Cloture means to shut down the
debate, not permit the Democrats to add amendments, not to permit the
American public to hear the full discussion. That is the issue--
continuing to block our ability to offer any open, new ideas to their
original proposal.
Well, if that is true, it is outrageous. It is the kind of political
game that has been played on this floor on this issue from day 1.
Apparently the majority isn't as anxious to get a Social Security
lockbox as they pretend to be. They just want to force the Democrats to
cast votes against cloture, against continuing the debate, against
permitting the debate.
Well, Democrats have to oppose cloture, if we are being blocked from
offering amendments. That doesn't mean we are being obstructive. It
doesn't mean we are filibustering the bill. We just have to protect our
rights and the citizens' rights as we see them.
What the Republicans want to do is force us to cast these cloture
votes and then claim that we are filibustering the lockbox. It is
wrong, and they are aware of it. They want to shut us out of the
debate. We represent a significant part of the American public. Whether
they voted for us or they didn't, we represent them.
This isn't just playing politics. It is unfair, and it is especially
unbecoming of a party that is in the majority and purportedly running
Government. They should be spending their time getting legislation
passed, not just forcing Democrats to walk the line, to cast votes that
they can later misrepresent for political gain.
President Clinton has reached out his hand with a proposal that
obviously lays the groundwork for a bipartisan deal. He is known to
include Republicans in discussions about things. I serve on the Budget
Committee. I am the senior Democrat. This is the third President with
whom I have served. I have never seen a President more anxious to
discuss his ideas on legislation with the other side than President
Clinton.
He said he is willing to compromise on tax cuts. He said he wants to
work with the Congress. What is the response from the majority?
Partisan politics. You have to ask why. Do they really think it makes
any difference whether there are five cloture votes instead of four? It
is a mischaracterization. Who is trying to kid whom? This goes beyond
petty. It really is unfair and pathetic.
I hope we are going to stop these political games. Then let us sit
down on a bipartisan basis and do the work of the people. Let us
develop a real lockbox that makes sense to both of us, a consensus
view, and one that really protects Social Security and Medicare.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
The Senator from Pennsylvania.
Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I ask the Senator from Michigan for 5
minutes.
Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I yield such time as the Senator from
Pennsylvania would like.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the Senator from
Pennsylvania is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I have to comment on the statement of
the Senator from New Jersey.
One of the more vexing problems we have in political debate in
America is who is telling the truth. What I am going to tell you is 180
degrees from what the Senator from New Jersey just said. What he
repeatedly said is true is, in fact, not true.
What the Senator from New Jersey said is that the Democrats would not
be able to offer amendments on the Social Security lockbox as a result
of the cloture votes that were taken on April 22, April 30, and June
15. That is not true.
Let me state that again, emphatically, to the Senator from New Jersey
and to the American public: What the Senator from New Jersey just said,
which is that Democrats were blocked from offering amendments on the
issue of a Social Security lockbox, is not true. So the entire speech
we just heard was, in fact, a statement which had no basis in fact.
That is true.
The Senator from New Jersey could have opposed cloture and offered
all the amendments he wanted on the Social Security lockbox. We could
have had hours, days of debate on a Social Security lockbox. We wanted
to have those kinds of debates. They refused.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Will the Senator yield for a question?
Mr. SANTORUM. I am happy to yield for a question.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Isn't it so that the tree--I don't want to use arcane
language; I always try to get away from that so the public understands
what we are talking about. Weren't we blocked from amendments by virtue
of the fact that the amendment tree was filled by the Republicans?
Mr. SANTORUM. The April 22 vote was a vote on cloture on the first-
degree amendment. The tree was not filled. It was a first-degree
amendment vote on cloture, No. 1. We wanted a vote on that particular
amendment, yes.
After that amendment would have passed or failed, you were then
available to offer all the amendments you
[[Page S7978]]
wanted on Social Security. You could have offered your own Social
Security lockbox. You could have taken the Abraham bill and changed the
wording in it, and we could have had a vote on that, but you did not
want to do that. You did not want to have that debate. You refused us
even getting into a vote. All we wanted to do with these cloture
motions was to say: Give us a clean vote on this particular proposal.
After that, you are free to amend it. You are free to offer your own;
you can do whatever you want. You can offer a Medicare lockbox. You can
do whatever you want. Just give us a vote on our proposal and then you
are welcome to do whatever else you want. You said emphatically,
unanimously, three times: No.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. I ask the Senator, if he will indulge another
question, was the tree filled with second-degree amendments?
Mr. SANTORUM. That was not the statement of the Senator from New
Jersey. He made the statement that he could not offer amendments. The
answer is, he could have offered amendments.
What we wanted was a vote on the Abraham-Domenici bill. After that
vote, he was free to amend that proposal. He was free to offer his own
proposal. There could have been a full and open debate on Social
Security lockbox, after he gave us a vote on our amendment.
I don't think that is an unreasonable thing to ask.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Well, I thank the Senator from Pennsylvania for the
courtesy. But the fact of the matter is that there was an obstruction
to us offering amendments until the Republicans were certain that they
had their amendment considered in its raw form. Frankly, to me, that
was blocking Democrats from having it.
Mr. SANTORUM. All I say to the Senator from New Jersey is that all we
asked for is to give us a clean up-or-down vote on our amendment. After
that amendment, you could have amended that thing, you could have
offered your own, done anything you wanted. All we wanted to make sure
of was that we had a clean vote on our amendment to start this debate,
and after that, you could have done anything you wanted.
By the way, if you look at the statement you just read into the
Record, you said exactly the opposite of what I just said. You said you
could not have offered amendments when, in fact, you could have. You
still had the right to, and you chose not to because you didn't want to
enter into this debate.
We see a wonderful willingness on the part of the Democrats now,
after the President joined our side in saying we want a lockbox, to
open up and debate this and offer amendments, when you had the very
same opportunity four times to do the same thing.
I welcome that. I welcome that we are going to have an opportunity to
focus in on what I think is one of the most important things--not just
for Social Security but important things for the long-term fiscal
future of this country, this government; that is, putting in place a
provision that says if you are going to spend more money on new
government programs, or even if they are going to spend money on tax
cuts, you are not going to spend it on Social Security unless you stand
up before this Senate and before the American public and say: We are
going to take Social Security dollars. We believe it is more important
to do tax cuts. We believe it is more important to do funding for
education or funding for defense than it is to provide money for Social
Security.
That is the vote we are looking for. That is the vote of
accountability that we want every Member of the Senate to have to cast.
That is the fiscal discipline, when people have to make that choice,
and it is clear to everybody what the choice is. We have lots of points
of order and procedural things, but then everybody sort of walks out of
the room and spins it their way. In this case, with the lockbox vote,
where it says you have to vote on a motion that says we will spend
Social Security money for X or Y or Z, you have to tell the American
people that you believe that is a higher priority than Social Security.
We have no such vote today. But if we pass a lockbox, then the
American public will know what your choices are. There may be a
situation where we need to spend Social Security money. Frankly, I
can't think of one, but there may be one--an emergency, a true
emergency, where our national security is at risk. There may be a
situation where we want to spend Social Security dollars, but it has to
be voted on. That is the most important thing. That is what the other
side never wanted to have happen.
I thank the President for breaking the logjam over there. The House
Democrats did a pretty good job; they passed a Social Security lockbox
bill. But it was the folks on the other side who stood as the dam to
this current that was flowing through the Congress. I thank the
President for getting the beavers to work, getting them out of the way
and making sure we can have a full, fair, and open debate--as we could
have three or four times previous to this. We could have had a full,
fair, open debate in the Senate about a very important issue, yes, for
Social Security but just as important to the fiscal discipline of the
U.S. Government in the future.
I thank the Senator from Michigan and the Senator from New Mexico,
Mr. Abraham and Mr. Domenici, for their excellent work on this issue.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, how much time do the Republicans have
left?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Nine minutes 18 seconds are remaining on the
Republican side; 12 minutes 12 seconds are remaining on the Democrat
side.
Mr. DOMENICI. Will the Senator yield me 4 minutes?
Mr. ABRAHAM. I yield the Senator as much time as he needs.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, please tell me when I have used 4
minutes.
I say to the President of the United States: Thank you very much, Mr.
President. You have agreed with us on one of the most important issues
confronting the senior citizens of this Nation. In your budget and your
recommendations in the past, during this fiscal year, you suggested
that only 62 percent of the Social Security trust fund be saved and put
in a trust fund and stay there for senior citizens for their Social
Security. We suggested in our budget resolution that anything short of
100 percent was not right. After weeks of debate in this body, without
an opportunity to get a vote on an amendment that would have said that
and would have locked it tightly in place, the President of the United
States announced that there are more resources available because the
surpluses are bigger and decided that he agreed with the Republicans
that 100 percent of the Social Security trust fund should be set aside
for Social Security purposes.
Now the time has come for the Senate to do that. This is not an issue
of Medicare. This is an issue of the Social Security trust fund being
available for no purpose other than Social Security. In the meantime,
it is used to reduce the national debt. That is the program, that is
the plan, that is the safest and fairest thing for seniors across this
land.
Pretty soon, we are going to find out whether that is really the
issue or whether there is another issue, and that other issue is, even
if you have done that and set it aside and locked it away, should there
be a tax cut? It would appear that for some reason, the President of
the United States and maybe a majority of the Democrats in the Senate
don't want to let the American people have a refund of the taxes they
have overpaid. And now we learn from both auditing or accounting
entities, the President's and ours, that that surplus is even bigger
than we thought. That is aside from the Social Security trust fund--in
addition to it, without touching it.
The issue, then, is what kind of gimmick are we going to use to eat
up that surplus so there is no money available to give back to the
American people? That is the issue. The issue will be couched as if we
should put $350 billion of this non-Social Security surplus in a
Medicare trust fund. But the President's own proposals belie the
necessity for that and just give it a birth--you open it up and you can
see it for what it is, an effort to deny the American people a tax cut
because, lo and behold, the President said we can reform Medicare. We
can actually put in place prescription drugs. And what is
[[Page S7979]]
the price tag? Let's just agree that the President has a good number--
how about that, I say to Senator Abraham--$46 billion, not $396
billion; $46 billion is what he says we need during the next decade to
provide prescription drugs, which he deems to be good for the senior
citizens of America. He is crossing this land and saying: I am for
prescription drugs.
We are for prescription drugs. In fact, we are so pleased that the
President has acknowledged exactly that situation that we are almost
prepared to say--as soon as we run some numbers --that we can do better
than you have done in terms of prescription drugs for senior citizens
who need prescription drug assistance.
But let's remember, he says we need $46 billion. We are going to hear
some arguments about the lockbox, saying let's have another lockbox for
Medicare and let's take a bunch of the money that the taxpayers ought
to get and put it over there in a trust fund under the rubric that it
will help get rid of the deficit, that it will bring down the deficit
of the United States, the overall debt--even though the three major
accounting entities that have testified said it will be the same thing
whether you put it in there or not. It has no impact because at some
point you have to pay off those IOUs, and that means a tax increase.
Now, this is rather complicated, but the truth of the matter is--
listen up, seniors--we are going to provide a prescription drug benefit
as good as the President's or better. Let's focus on that. That is what
we are going to do. Indeed, we are going to put every nickel--I remind
everybody it takes $120 billion more for the trust fund to get all it
is entitled to, according to CBO. We are going to put more than $1.8
trillion in. We are going to put $1.9 trillion in that trust fund.
In summary, we are making some headway. It is slow and tedious.
I assume that today all Members on the other side of the aisle are
going to vote for cloture on the motion to proceed. I believe that is
the case. It will be 100 to nothing, as if they have agreed to a
lockbox. Actually, that is a wasted vote, if there are going to be 100.
They are just deciding they all want to go home and say: We are for the
lockbox also.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we vitiate the yeas and
nays on the lockbox motion to proceed----
Mr. LAUTENBERG. We object.
Mr. DOMENICI. May I finish? I wasn't finished.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. I am sorry. Please continue.
Mr. DOMENICI. May I finish my consent request? I would like to make
sure it makes some sense.
I ask unanimous consent that we dispense with that vote and that we
proceed to substitute for that a motion as if cloture was before us on
the actual lockbox amendment.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
Mr. DOMENICI. I yield the floor.
If the Senator has a little time later, I would be glad to use
another minute.
Thank you.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
The Republicans control 2 minutes 54 seconds. The Democrats have 12
minutes 12 seconds.
The question from the Chair is, Who yields time?
If neither side yields time, the time will be charged equally to both
sides.
Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum, and I
ask unanimous consent that the time not be counted to either side.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative assistant proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I may use.
Mr. President, we are going through an exercise about what is being
characterized by the Democrats and what is being characterized by the
Republicans as an imperfect lockbox situation--a lockbox
recommendation.
I want to try to get this debate on this subject itself instead of
the process. The fact of the matter is that if we try to define what
constitutes a lockbox--we heard the Senator from North Dakota earlier
talking about his effort to identify a lockbox going back to 1982 or
1983, in that period. Lockbox terminology was used way before it was
discussed on this floor. It is a common expression in terms of banking
and financial programs.
What we are talking about, very simply, is whether or not we put
enough money away to say to the American public, when it is your time
to retire--talking to those who now are, let's say, in their twenties,
maybe in their teens--Social Security will be there for you when it is
your time to use that benefit.
That is the discussion that goes on.
The other program--Medicare, which is directly linked to the Social
Security program--health care for the elderly, for seniors, is the
biggest worry among our population. People identify it as their concern
about being locked out of health care--not knowing what conditions
might arise that will absorb all of their savings, all of their
resources. With the good science that has been developed over the
years, we have had far better health than we thought we might have,
looking back some years.
I know that when I was in the Army during World War II, I never
dreamed that at this stage of my life I would be hard at work trying to
do the things that I do, and feeling pretty good about it. I am glad to
know there is a program out there for those who aren't physically able
to deal with life's daily pressures, and when they run into medical
problems, health care is going to be there. That is the way it ought to
be.
With all of that, and all of the criticism of President Clinton, the
fact is that he is the leader in the country who saw us stop the
hemorrhaging of incredibly increasing debt that was falling upon not
just the present generation but future generations.
I used to hear the cries: We are saddling our children and our
grandchildren with debt. Now we want to pay it off. They say: Well,
paying off debt, what does it mean? It means an awful lot. The fact of
the matter is that it provides the kind of things that families try to
provide; and that is security for the future--reserves--so that when
you have something you either need or want, you have some means to do
it.
That is what we are talking about here. We want to preserve, and we
want to increase, the solvency of Medicare to make sure it is there for
a longer period of time. We want to extend Medicare to 2025 and have
Social Security retirement benefits available until 2053, with a pledge
from the White House and from this President to try to reform the
process to extend it even further. That is what we are discussing.
Despite the cries and the pleas--``to tell the truth,'' is what I
heard. I don't usually use that kind of terminology, because not
telling the truth suggests some kind of a character flaw. The truth in
many times is as observed by the person speaking. But the real judgment
comes from the others who hear it. The truth of the matter is that we
are trying our darndest--each side of the aisle--in this particular
construction of how they see us, we being able to provide the kind of
security that our people want. We on this side of the aisle think it
ought to be done by not only preserving all of the Social Security
surpluses but by paying down the debt and increasing reserves available
to put into that Social Security trust fund to extend it slightly even
further. That is what we want to do.
All of the gimmicks that are used, all of the ploys that the majority
has used characteristically to try to stop the Democrats from offering
amendments, from making this debate available to the public--that is
the way it goes. We have never seen the kind of a period where so many
cloture votes are ordered at the same time that a bill is sent up to
the desk to be considered. Almost immediately, in so many cases, it is
followed by a cloture vote before there is any debate. The cries of a
filibuster are hollow cries, because no filibuster has had a chance to
get underway. There hasn't been any chance to talk at all. Shut it
down. Use the cloture vote technique.
The public shouldn't perhaps be deceived by what they hear about how
anxious the Republicans are to get on
[[Page S7980]]
with the work of the people when they refuse to allow reasonable debate
on the subject. There are ways to do it: Fill up the amendment tree,
that stops it; invoke cloture, that stops it; or put in quorum calls,
or have majority votes on things that stop the process.
The question is simply, Do we want to extend Social Security
solvency? I think that answer has to be yes. Do we want to extend the
Medicare solvency? I think that answer has to be yes.
Let the American people decide. When do they decide? They decide in
November 2000 whether or not they prefer one method or the other. We
ought to be plain spoken about what it is we are trying to do and not
shut off the debate and not say that the Democrats could have offered
amendments. They couldn't have, not at that time. They could have in
due time--after everything was signed, sealed, and delivered. It is a
backhanded way of operating.
I hope we will move on to the debate of the lockbox legislation. Let
the public hear it. Take the time necessary to have a full airing. Let
either side amend it and get on with serving the people's needs.
How much time remains on both sides?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has control of 3 minutes 20
seconds; the Republicans have 2 minutes 54 seconds.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. I yield the floor.
Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I yield myself 1 minute 30 seconds.
We are here today to try to put in motion a process that will save
the Social Security trust fund surpluses for Social Security. The
Republicans have been trying to simply get a vote on our proposal for
over 70 days.
The entire parliamentary effort that has been described has been
aimed at simply getting us a chance to have a vote on what was our
original amendment to a different bill. The notion that getting cloture
on that amendment would somehow stifle opportunities for others to
bring amendments is not the way this system works. I think everybody
should understand that. Our goal is to get a vote on the amendment we
wanted. That is perfectly consistent with what people on all sides
always try to do. It was a simple effort.
Let's not get caught up in the parliamentary discussions. The bottom
line is we are still trying to create a lockbox for the American people
who send payroll taxes to Washington so they can be assured those
dollars go to Social Security. That is what we are fighting for. This
debate is no more complicated than that.
We have heard claims people want a weaker lockbox, a harder lockbox.
Let's go forward with it. Let's pass this motion. Let's vote for
cloture today. Give Members a chance to have a vote on our plan. If
others want to offer their plans, there will be opportunities for that.
I don't think there should be any absence of clarity as to what we
have been trying to achieve for 73 days, and that is simply to get a
vote on a lockbox, which was brought as an amendment by the
Republicans. We will still get that vote; we will keep fighting until
we do.
I yield the floor.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. I yield back the remaining time.
Mr. ABRAHAM. How much time do we have?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republicans have 1 minute 16 seconds.
Mr. ABRAHAM. I yield that time to the Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, this is not an issue of what kind of
economic game plan we have had for the last 5 or 6 years. We all
understand that hard-working Americans are making this economy hum.
Investors who have become more enlightened and entrepreneurs who are
taking more risks have caused a great American recovery, sustained in a
manner we have never expected.
The issue is, when we collect more taxes, and we exceed
expectations--in fact, not just by a few hundred million, but actually
approaching $1 trillion--should we wait for the Government to spend it
or should we give some of it back to the American taxpayer?
Actually, the Social Security trust fund can be saved. Medicare with
prescription drugs can be reformed and fixed so we have prescription
drugs, and there is still a large amount of money left over. What
should we do with it? Invent some way to set it aside? If we do that,
it will be spent. Let's give some of it back to the American people.
That is why the lockbox is important. It says what is left over does
not belong to Social Security; it belongs to the American people. Use
it prudently, Congress, and give back some of it.
It appears there is a war with that side of the aisle against giving
anything back to the American people from these kinds of surpluses. I
believe we will win that war. We relish it. We are ready to go. That
will be the issue the next couple of months.
I yield the floor.
cloture motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired. Under the previous
order, pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Senate the
pending cloture motion, which the clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to
proceed to Calendar No. 89, S. 557, a bill to provide
guidance for the designation of emergencies as a part of the
budget process:
Trent Lott, Spencer Abraham, Jim Inhofe, Kay Bailey
Hutchison, Pete Domenici, Paul Coverdell, Wayne Allard,
Jesse Helms, Larry E. Craig, Mike Crapo, Chuck Hagel,
Mike DeWine, Michael H. Enzi, Judd Gregg, Tim
Hutchinson, and Craig Thomas.
Call of the Roll
The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the quorum call is
waived.
Vote
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate
that debate on the motion to proceed to S. 557, a bill to provide
guidance for the designation of emergencies as part of the budget
process, shall be brought to a close? The yeas and nays are required
under the rules. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative assistant called the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gregg). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced-- yeas 99, nays 1, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 193 Leg.]
YEAS--99
Abraham
Akaka
Allard
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Breaux
Brownback
Bryan
Bunning
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Cleland
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coverdell
Craig
Crapo
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Enzi
Feingold
Feinstein
Fitzgerald
Frist
Gorton
Graham
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Helms
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Moynihan
Murkowski
Murray
Nickles
Reed
Reid
Robb
Roberts
Rockefeller
Santorum
Sarbanes
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Torricelli
Voinovich
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 99, the nays are 1.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the
affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
____________________