[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 19, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 23, 2002, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the nearly 
100,000 Social Security beneficiaries that live in my district, nearly 
70 percent of whom are 65 years of age and older and are seniors.
  Today, like so many of us, seniors stand in the recent tragic events 
that have left an imprint on our national landscape forever. They are 
uneasy about their lives and the security of their future. Now is the 
time to address their fears, not the time to wage a war on the benefits 
they rely on to live.
  I am disturbed by the number and tone of letters and phone calls I 
have received from constituents. Many seniors 70, 80, and 90 years old 
have expressed concern over the solvency of Social Security. They want 
their leaders in Washington to be responsible in their actions and not 
take chances with their future and the future of their children.
  I am further disturbed when I receive the administration's budget 
recommendations. The administration proposes a budget that takes needed 
Social Security surpluses out of the Social Security trust fund, not 
just 1 year, but every year for the next 10 years.
  This year alone, the budget would train $262 billion in Social 
Security funds. Ultimately, the administration's proposed budget takes 
more than $1.5 trillion out of the Social Security surplus. The 
President and the House Republican leadership, just a few months ago, 
including some Democrats, claimed that we would also support and 
establish the Social Security and Medicare surpluses that would be 
saved for Social Security and Medicare. Now the budget saves virtually 
nothing of Social Security or Medicare.
  Recently, the CBO released an analysis of the administration's 
proposed budget. They concluded that the budget raids Social Security 
and threatens the solvency of the program for future generations.

                              {time}  1300

  Further, they project large deficits for the next several years. They 
project a $121 billion deficit next year, and by the end of President 
Bush's term in 2004, a $262 billion deficit.
  However, the administration has, for the first time since 1988, 
rejected the more conservative economic predictions of the CBO and, 
instead, are using the optimistic, unrealistic figures produced by the 
Bush administration's Office of Management and Budget. When they looked 
at the cuts, they looked at how our economy was last March and they 
projected for the next 10 years the same type of economy. As my 
colleagues well know, you cannot even predict what our weather is going 
to be next year.
  They took that prediction because it was a very positive prediction. 
But we should not have assumed that those dollars and that the economy 
would remain the same way. Alarmingly, the OMB figures for the 
administration hide the true cost of the administration's sponsored tax 
cuts. We cannot and must not enact budgets with our heads in the sand. 
We must look at the dollars that we have now and realistically pay down 
our debt as we should and make sure we hold that obligation to take 
care of our seniors.
  Our seniors have questions. They want to know how we have squandered 
the surplus in just 1 year. And, of course, a lot of us, and for good 
reason, are concerned about our economy. We do talk about the fact that 
9/11 had a big impact on our economy. In fact, economists now tell us 
that half of the problem that we find ourselves in is a result of the 
tax cut and half is due to 9/11.
  Republicans and the administration successfully pushed a tax cut 
during the first half of this session. This irresponsible tax cut cost 
$1.7 trillion. Now they want additional tax cuts. So tomorrow we get to 
see additional tax cuts, at a time when we have declared war. When we 
are at war, we have always had a war tax. We have always been 
responsible for paying down what we owe.
  We need to be responsible as we move forward. Indeed every dollar of 
the additional tax cut would come directly out of the Social Security 
trust fund. We are paying for this war on the backs of our senior 
citizens' pension fund. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves.
  What our seniors need is for all of us to work together and give them 
the sense of security. They do not need fancy gimmicks like 
certificates and promises of benefits with no legal guarantee. What 
they need is a responsible budget that takes care of our budget and 
considers the fact that we are at war and that should be our first 
priority, taking care of our seniors and our national defense.
  These figures increase significantly if you are a woman or a 
minority. Social Security is the only safety net to keep many of our 
seniors out of poverty.
  Social Security has lifted over 11 million seniors out of poverty and 
reduced the elderly poverty rate to less than 10%.
  Now is not the time for gimmicks and broken promises. We must make 
the choices that reveal our values as a nation and we must keep our 
promises.

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