[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 151 (Monday, November 1, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S13591]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              COOKED BOOKS

  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I rise today to read an editorial from 
today's Columbus Dispatch. I want to read it in its entirety because I 
believe it strongly makes a point that needs to be made.
  The editorial is entitled: ``Cooked books--That big federal budget 
surplus? It isn't.''
  The editorial reads as follows:

       The president and members of Congress should all be kept 
     after school to write this on the blackboard 123 billion 
     times:
       There is no federal budget surplus.
       The $123 billion surplus that the president and Congress 
     are crowing about last week really is a $1 billion deficit, 
     hidden by $124 billion in excess Social Security tax revenue 
     that shouldn't even be counted in the general budget because 
     it is meant to be set aside in a trust fund to cover 
     retirement-benefit payments later.
       Put that Social Security money aside as intended and the 
     truth about the federal surplus becomes evident:
       The government spent $1 billion more than it took in last 
     year.
       Certainly, a $1 billion deficit is a vast improvement over 
     years past, when the government was running in the red to the 
     tune of $200 billion or more annually and creating a national 
     debt approaching $6 trillion.
       But it is still a deficit.
       And it is patently dishonest for the president and Congress 
     to pretend that all that red ink is black.
       Even the $124 billion in excess Social Security revenues is 
     really not a surplus for the retirement program.
       Yes, Social Security took in more last year than it paid 
     out, but that surplus is a drop in the bucket of the 
     program's $8 trillion unfunded liability.
       That's the amount of money the program ultimately is 
     obligated to pay out to current retirees and workers above 
     and beyond what those participants have paid or will pay into 
     the system.
       The $124 billion cushion that Social Security has right now 
     puts a mere 1.6 percent dent in that massive obligation.
       Congress and the president each pay lip service to the idea 
     of balancing the federal budget and preserving the Social 
     Security surpluses for Social Security, but a genuine 
     commitment to these goals would begin with honest 
     bookkeeping.
       Until then, it is back to the blackboard:
       There is no federal budget surplus.
       There is no federal budget surplus.
       There is no federal budget surplus.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative assistant proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Voinovich). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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