[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 76 (Tuesday, June 11, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H3428-H3429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE DEBT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, this evening I would like to dedicate my 
remarks to Social Security, its trust funds and our growing national 
debt.
  In January of last year, our Nation finally moved to an annual 
balanced budget after decades of being awash in growing debt as far as 
the eye could see. Many of us fought very hard to

[[Page H3429]]

bring that budget back into balance and, in fact, the Congressional 
Budget Office at that time projected that we were on course to have the 
publicly held debt, the over MMMM$6 trillion of accumulated debt, paid 
off in about 10 years, by 2011.
  Now, not even one and a half years later the Congressional Budget 
Office projects that under the Republican budget passed here in March, 
there will be a $1.8 trillion in budget deficit over the next 10 years. 
So instead of paying off our Nation's debt by 2011, under the 
Republican budget the publicly held debt will stand at nearly $3 
trillion.
  I can remember when they took the debt clock down in Time Square and 
everybody across America cheered. Well, I would encourage those folks 
up on Wall Street to put it back up because it is growing again.
  Now, what is the biggest reason for this radical reversal in our 
Nation's financial health? Primarily, the Bush tax gives away mainly to 
the super rich.
  Now, what does this burgeoning public debt represent? First and 
foremost it means Social Security trust funds are being drawn down to 
pay for those tax breaks. And what is really amazing is that the 
Republican majority here in this Congress voted seven times to protect 
the Social Security trust fund in a lockbox. They said they wanted to 
ensure that not a penny of the Social Security surplus would be used 
for other programs. They have vowed that every penny of the surplus 
would be used solely to buy back outstanding Treasury bonds in a manner 
that would shore up Social Security for the future. So the Republican 
budget they passed in March does not simply break the lockbox and dip 
into the Social Security surplus, it calls for a grand and extended 
raid, tapping the surplus every year of the next decade. The timing 
could not be worse. We must balance the Federal budget and protect 
Social Security surpluses for the 44 million baby boomers set to retire 
over the next ten to 15 years. Working families have earned a secure 
retirement and we must put Social Security solvency first. Congress is 
the main protector of Social Security. It is the people's program 
intended by Franklin Roosevelt and every Democratic president since, to 
allow generations of retirees to live with independence and dignity. 
And it is time for the Republican majority to stop raiding Social 
Security. But so long as they continue to do so I will be down here 
every week telling the American people exactly how much they have taken 
from the one remaining portion of the Federal budget that is in surplus 
and that is the trust funds.
  Last week we reported that they had taken as of June 5, 
$207,232,876,712, which last week amounted to about $717 per American. 
This week, they have now taken over $5 billion more.
  As of June 11, 2002 they have now dipped into the trust fund 
$212,246,575,342 averaging about $754 per American. I do not think that 
this is responsible budgeting. I do not think this is what the 
Republican majority promised. I am generally not quite this partisan on 
the floor of this Congress. However, when it comes to Social Security 
and Medicare, and what it has meant to lift half a Nation out of 
poverty, there is absolutely no reason that Kenneth Lay and his likes 
should get a $350 million tax refund while average Americans are having 
their future retirement funds raided every single week. So I would just 
ask those who may be listening in New York City, if you could find that 
old debt clock and put it back, I think we need to tell the truth to 
the American people. It is time that we begin putting money in the 
trust fund, not drawing it down for purposes that are unrelated to the 
purpose for which it was originally organized.

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