[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 23, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE NOMINATION OF MITCHELL E. DANIELS, JR.

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I want to speak briefly about the 
nomination of Mitch Daniels to be the head of the Office of Management 
and Budget. First of all, I want to say Mr. Daniels called me when he 
had been named and we had a brief, frank visit about the 
responsibilities of the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget. I want to indicate that I will vote for his confirmation.
  That is not the reason I rose to speak on his nomination. At his 
confirmation hearing Mr. Daniels indicated, in response to a question, 
that he would not support giving the same protection to the Medicare 
trust fund surpluses that we have agreed, on a bipartisan basis, to 
give to the Social Security trust fund surpluses. I want to indicate my 
strong disagreement with Mr. Daniels on that position. I think that is 
the entirely wrong position to take.
  In fact, in the U.S. Senate, on a bipartisan basis, we voted 
overwhelmingly, last year, on a provision I offered to protect both the 
Social Security trust fund and the Medicare trust fund surpluses, to 
protect them against raids for other purposes.
  Now Mr. Daniels has announced a policy of being willing to protect 
the Social Security trust fund but not the Medicare trust fund. I hope 
he will rethink that issue. I hope he will agree with what was a strong 
bipartisan vote here in the U.S. Senate last year, to protect both the 
Social Security trust fund and the Medicare trust fund surpluses. We 
should not permit raids of either one of them. We should not allow 
those funds to be used for any other purpose. Social Security funds 
should not be used for other spending. They should not be used for a 
tax cut. The Medicare trust funds should not be used for other 
spending. They should not be used for a tax cut. Those funds ought to 
be reserved for the purposes for which they were raised, which is to 
support the Social Security Program and the Medicare program.

  I was disappointed when Mr. Daniels indicated he would not support 
protection of the Medicare trust fund. I think that is a profoundly 
wrong position to take. I hope he will rethink it. I certainly hope he 
was not speaking for this administration.
  Again, I remind him and remind this administration that, on a 
bipartisan basis, last year on the floor of the Senate, we had 60 votes 
for the proposition that we ought to protect both the Social Security 
trust fund and Medicare trust fund. That is a policy supported by the 
American people that ought to be supported by the Office of Management 
and Budget. It was supported here on the floor of the Senate and I hope 
this administration will think very carefully about its position before 
they conclude they are going to adopt the position of Mr. Daniels.
  Mr. REID. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. CONRAD. I am happy to yield.
  Mr. REID. The Senator from North Dakota and I, I think the ranking 
member of the Banking Committee, and others, were part of a debate that 
took place just a few years ago, where the then majority, the 
Republicans, were trying to use Social Security surpluses to offset the 
deficit. Does the Senator recall that?
  Mr. CONRAD. I remember it very well. In fact they had what they 
called a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution but what they 
were doing to balance the budget was to raid the Social Security trust 
funds to achieve balance. That would have been an entirely phony 
balancing of the budget, I believe.
  Mr. REID. So, as I hear what the Senator is saying, what he is afraid 
of is they are trying to use, now, the surpluses from Medicare to spend 
for other programs. Is that what the Senator is afraid of?
  Mr. CONRAD. That is exactly what the new head of the Office of 
Management and Budget has announced in a hearing before Members of the 
United States Senate in the Government Affairs Committee. He said he is 
willing to protect the Social Security trust fund but he is not willing 
to protect the Medicare trust fund. They both ought to be protected. 
Neither one of them should be raided.
  Mr. REID. I say to my friend from North Dakota, who is the Democrats' 
leader on the Budget Committee, that, as usual, when it deals with 
matters of finance--this is my personal opinion--there is no one better 
than the Senator from North Dakota. I appreciate very much his bringing 
this to the attention, not only of the Senate but the American people. 
We cannot let the Social Security trust fund moneys be used for 
anything other than Social Security. And we cannot let moneys set aside 
for Medicare be used for anything other than working to solve the 
terrible problem we have with seniors paying for their medical 
programs, including that which we want to do dealing with prescription 
drugs. So I personally appreciate the statement made by the Senator of 
North Dakota, focusing on this very vital interest.
  Mr. CONRAD. I appreciate the comments of my colleague. I want to say 
we are talking about real money here. The forecast of the Social 
Security trust fund surpluses over the next 10 years is $2.7 trillion. 
The forecast of the Medicare trust fund surplus over the next 10 years 
is $400 billion. We ought to protect them. We ought to wall them off. 
We ought to prevent anyone from using those funds for any other 
purpose.

  That is why I was so disappointed in the statement of Mr. Daniels, 
the designee to head the Office of Management and Budget, when he 
indicated in response to a direct question that he would be willing to 
protect the Social Security trust fund but he would not be willing to 
protect the Medicare trust fund. What is the difference? It is just a 
difference in programs. They are both trust funds. It is not very 
trustworthy if you raid them and we should not permit any raid on them.
  I just want Mr. Daniels and the administration to know that if they 
have an idea they are going to raid the Medicare trust fund, we on this 
side are going to oppose them every step of the way.
  Mr. REID. I say to my friend, these should be trust funds, not slush 
funds. I know, being the person he is, monitoring the money for the 
Democrats in the budget process, and where it should go and should not 
go, he will be vigilant because he is, in effect, protecting not only 
the Senate, but the American people.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Senator from Maryland.

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