[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 42 (Tuesday, April 12, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H1857]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SOCIAL SECURITY

  (Mr. PRICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, we have heard all about the 
problems with Social Security many times here on the House floor: 
looming deficits, benefit cuts, payroll tax hikes. These problems are 
very real, and they are just around the corner if we do not act.
  With that being said, my colleagues across the aisle continue to 
criticize, continue to say to the American people that there is no 
problem when, in fact, the 2005 Trustees Report showed the problem to 
be crystal clear. Social Security will begin paying out more than it 
collects in 2017. By 2041, the Social Security system as we know it 
will be insolvent with not enough money to pay 100 percent of the 
promised benefits.
  Raising payroll taxes is not a solution. Just look at our history. 
Payroll taxes have been increased over 20 times since Social Security 
began.
  Madam Speaker, across the aisle we hear the same old rhetoric of why 
things will not work. The question I have for them is what are their 
proposals to fix Social Security?
  The challenges with Social Security are not Republican, and they are 
not Democrat. This is a challenge for all Americans, and I call upon 
those across the aisle to help us find a solution. Let us put people 
above politics.

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