[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 39 (Thursday, April 7, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E584]]
                SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE 2006 BUSH BUDGET

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 6, 2005

  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the 
Bush Administration's 2006 budget which will in essence shortchange the 
American people. It fails to include the cost of the war in Iraq, 
increases the cost of health care for our veterans, and cuts billions 
in education, health care, housing, and environmental programs, while 
adding more than $4 trillion to the deficit in the next 10 years.
  What is more amazing is that while the President has made the 
privatization of Social Security his top priority, he has failed to 
provide any details for his proposed program. Most notably, the budget 
omits the cost of the proposed privatization which according to 
independent experts will cost more than $4 trillion in the first 20 
years. Additionally, his budget continues the raid on the Social 
Security Trust Fund, borrowing and spending all of the money from the 
Social Security Trust Fund over the next five years.
  The President's failure to provide a clear and honest accounting of 
the difficult trade-offs between increases in the debt, benefit cuts, 
and tax increases necessary to fund the White House's privatization 
proposal is another attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the 
Americans. But, Mr. President, I want you to know that the American 
public is not fooled by this false rhetoric.
  So today I want to speak on behalf of the over 160,000 people in my 
district and the more than 48 million people across this country who 
currently rely on Social Security benefits. These are not just retired 
Americans, but also people with disabilities and those who have lost a 
parent. Many of them are seniors who without their Social Security 
benefits, nearly half would be living in poverty. Instead of 
privatizing and enacting a plan that will gamble benefits in the stock 
market we should be working on a plan to make Social Security solvent 
for the long term. We owe it to the American people who have worked all 
their lives and paid into this program to strengthen, not weaken Social 
Security. And we deserve better than this reckless and irresponsible 
budget.

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