[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 5, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BUNNING:
  S. 514. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal 
the 1993 income tax increase on Social Security benefits; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Social 
Security Benefits Tax Relief Act of 2003. This is a simple bill that 
would repeal the income tax increase on Social Security benefits that 
went into effect in 1993.
  When the Social Security system was created, beneficiaries did not 
pay Federal income tax on their benefits. However, in 1983, Congress 
passed legislation that changed all this. The 1983 law requires that 50 
percent of Social Security benefits be taxed for senior whose incomes 
reached a certain level. The revenue this tax generated was then 
credited to the Social Security trust funds. Although I wasn't in 
Congress back in 1983, some argued that these changes were necessary 
because it kept Social Security taxes more in line with taxes on 
private pensions and because it shored up the Social Security system.
  In 1993, President Clinton proposed that 85 percent of Social 
Security benefits be taxable for seniors meeting certain income 
thresholds, and that this additional money be allocated for the 
Medicare Program. Unfortunately, Congress passes this provision as part 
of a larger bill, which President Clinton then signed into law.
  I was a Member of the House of Representatives at this time. I voted 
against this bill and didn't support this provision. This tax is unfair 
to our senior citizens who worked year, after year, after year, paying 
into Social Security, only to be faced with higher taxed once they 
retired.
  The bill I am introducing would repeal the 85 percent tax, and would 
replace the funding that has been going to the Medicare Program with 
general funds. This tax was unfair when it was implemented in 1993, and 
it is unfair today. I hope my Senate colleagues can support this 
legislation to remove this burdensome tax on our seniors.
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