[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE LOCK-BOX ACT OF 2001

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                               speech of

                           HON. BARON P. HILL

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 13, 2001

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2 because I 
believe we should honor the commitment our government has made to 
protect America's seniors. We must guarantee that the money American 
workers pay into Social Security and Medicare, plus all of the interest 
those Trust Funds earn on this money, is used to keep Medicare and 
Social Security solvent. Not only will this bill help us shore up 
Social Security and Medicare, but taking these Trust Funds off-budget 
will allow us to pay down our national debt and keep our economy 
strong.
  Congress should protect the retirement funds we have promised to 
military retirees in the same way we are protecting Medicare and Social 
Security. We must not spend or otherwise dedicate any funds that are 
currently building in the Military Retirement Trust Fund, the on-budget 
fund that pays the military pensions of hundreds of thousands of men 
and women who have served this country in uniform.
  At the end of the year 2000, the balance of the Military Retirement 
Trust Fund was $163 billion. Over the next 10 years, the Congressional 
Budget Office projects that more than $100 billion additional dollars 
will be set aside in the fund.
  Few people realize that the current the budget surplus estimate 
includes money already promised to military personnel for their 
retirement. We should not consider any of the dollars set aside for 
military retirees as part of this surplus. And we certainly should not 
spend any of the money in the Military Retirement Trust Fund for 
purposes other than paying the retirement benefits of our fighting men 
and women. While I support this bill, I hope my colleagues will do the 
right thing by passing similar legislation to protect the Military 
Retirement Trust Fund.
  My colleague, Gene Taylor, and I have introduced a resolution calling 
on Congress to preserve the Military Retirement Trust Fund. H. Res. 23, 
the Military Retirement Protection Resolution, says Congress should not 
use the Military Retirement Trust Fund money for anything but what it 
is intended for: paying military retirement benefits. That is the least 
we can do for the men and women who send so much of their lives 
defending our nation.

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