[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 23, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H1328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     LOOMING SOCIAL SECURITY CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 20, 2004, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, a couple very important events 
are happening today that significantly impact our kids and our 
grandkids. One is the budget that we are passing. Although it is the 
best budget, the leanest budget, that we have passed since 1996, this 
budget still grows overall at about twice the rate of inflation.
  If we project that out, to the future and government grows at twice 
the rate of inflation, eventually we are going to have a government 
that is much larger relative to our economy and GDP. The other event 
that has just happened today is the actuaries at the Social Security 
Administration have released their report on what is going to happen to 
Social Security. It is not good news in the actuarial report of Social 
Security. It confirms that Social Security is going broke; less money 
is coming in than is needed to pay benefits 12 years from now.
  We continue in this body and across the Capitol in the Senate and the 
White House to increase our promises of what we are going to provide to 
people in the future; These are unfunded liabilities when it is not 
paid for. So our increased borrowing, how much our deficit spending is; 
how much we overspend in 1 year, how much we have to borrow in 1 year 
to accommodate that spending adds up to debt. The debt is a sum of all 
of the deficit spending. Our deficit is now over $7 trillion, and so we 
are going to have to vote again to increase the debt limit.
  I brought this chart to show what has happened in the history of the 
United States when Social Security faces problems of less money coming 
in than is needed to pay benefits.
  This is what has happened on the increase in taxes to accommodate the 
increased spending, and that is what I am suggesting today. If we do 
nothing, if we do not deal with this problem, if we do not look at the 
actuarial report of the huge burden of unfunded liabilities that are 
facing our kids and grandkids, then I think maybe, for lack of a better 
word, it is unconscionable.
  Just for a moment, in 1940 the rate was 2 percent on the first 
$3,000. By 1960, we needed more money, so what did the government do, 
raise it to 6 percent. In 1980, it was raised to over 10 percent on the 
first $26,000; in 2000, 12 percent of the first $76,000; and now it is 
12.4 percent of $87,900.

                              {time}  1245

  When government has needed a little more money, what we have done is 
increased taxes on working Americans. We have got to change from a 
program of fixed benefits over the next 60 years to a program of fixed 
contributions. Almost every other State has done that. To fix this 
around the edges simply puts off the problem to a future date and a 
future generation, which again I suggest is unfair.
  For everybody that is interested, I suggest that you take the time, 
look at the Web site of the actuarial report from the Social Security 
Administration, and I will just say it, www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR. That 
report says that the severe long-term consequences are enormous without 
action.
  I compliment President Bush for saying that we have got to move ahead 
on this, that we have got to have a bipartisan group come to grips and 
understand the enormity of this problem of Social Security. It is a 
program that has been developed, that now we have 80 percent of our 
population that are retired that depend on Social Security benefits for 
90 percent or more of their total retirement income. It needs to be 
fixed.
  It is not fair for this Chamber to demagogue the issue and simply go 
into this election year trying to scare seniors. If they listen to some 
other party of a proposed solution to Social Security that it is going 
to ruin their Social Security.
  I guess what I am trying to say is, I ask every voter, Mr. Speaker, 
to go and ask the candidates for President, to ask every candidate for 
the United States Senate, to ask every candidate for the U.S. House of 
Representatives what proposal have you introduced, what proposal have 
you signed on to as a cosponsor that is going to make sure that we keep 
Social Security solvent.

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