[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 13, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5398-S5399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            TRUSTEES REPORT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday afternoon, the trustees of 
the Social Security and Medicare trust funds released their annual 
report. After reviewing its findings, it is clear that the future of 
Social Security and Medicare can be summed up in one word: 
unsustainable.
  Even before the report was issued, we knew these programs could not 
remain solvent for long under current conditions. Last year's report 
predicted that Social Security would start paying out more than it 
takes in by 2017, and that it would be bankrupt about two decades after 
that. Last year's report also predicted that Medicare would start 
paying out more than it takes in within a year and that the trust fund 
for this vital program would go bankrupt about a decade after that.
  The report that was released yesterday presents a far graver 
scenario.
  As a result of the current recession, Social Security will start 
paying out more than it takes in by 2016, and it will go bankrupt 4 
years earlier than previously expected. The situation for Medicare is 
even more serious. Medicare is already paying out more than it takes 
in, and it will be bankrupt in just 8 years, 2 years earlier than 
expected, according to yesterday's report.
  It would be irresponsible for Congress to wait any longer before 
addressing this problem. Some say we haven't reached a point of crisis 
yet, so we can continue to kick the problem down the road until these 
programs actually go bankrupt. They seem to think that if the house is 
on fire, it is OK to wait until the whole place burns down before you 
call the fire department.
  Most Americans disagree. Most people think that if a program they 
depend on is falling apart, or is about to fall apart, then their 
elected representatives in Washington have an obligation to tell them 
about it, and to do something. The time to act is now, before these 
programs go bankrupt--not after.
  The warning signs about Social Security and Medicare have been around 
us for years, and the problems with these programs are also at the core 
of the current record levels of government spending and debt. At the 
moment, programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, as well 
as the interest we pay on the national debt, consume nearly seven out 
of every 10 dollars the Federal Government spends--Medicare, Social 
Security, Medicaid, and the national debt. Soon we will have little 
money left for anything else, including vital priorities such as 
defense, health care, transportation, and programs that fuel job 
creation.

  Reform has been put off for too long. Take Medicare reforms, for 
example. By law, the President is required to submit legislation to 
lower Medicare spending levels if the cashflow of this program falls 
below a certain level. So last year, when Medicare cashflow fell below 
that level, the President submitted legislation to lower spending. 
Unfortunately, this legislation did not move forward in Congress.
  Real leadership on entitlement reform will require action from both 
parties. And yesterday's report is the wake-up call. Reform is no 
longer just a good idea--it is absolutely necessary. It is the only way 
to restore these programs to fiscal health, and to get at

[[Page S5399]]

the root of our larger fiscal problems. Unless we act now, these 
programs will no longer be sustainable, and spending and debt will 
continue to spiral out of control.
  The good news is that a solution actually exists. As I have said many 
times before, the best way to address this crisis is the Conrad-Gregg 
proposal, which would provide an expedited pathway for fixing the long-
term challenges of entitlement spending and our unprecedented national 
debt--challenges that the Democratic budget and their economic policies 
of the past few months completely ignore.
  There has never been a better time to adopt this sensible bipartisan 
proposal. This week we learned that the deficit for the current fiscal 
year will be nearly $90 billion higher than previously estimated--
bringing the deficit for this year to $1.8 trillion. This is nearly 
four times--four times--higher than the record set last year. It also 
means that this year's deficit is higher than those of the past 5 years 
combined.
  The danger of all this debt is simple: higher inflation that 
threatens to derail an economic recovery, and trillions in debt that 
our children and grandchildren will have to repay to countries such as 
China and nations in the Middle East.
  Secretary Geithner said yesterday that when it comes to reforming 
Social Security, the administration will build a bipartisan consensus 
to ensure Social Security remains solvent. I welcome the statement, and 
I urge the administration to support the Conrad-Gregg proposal which is 
the best way and, I would argue, the only way to address entitlement 
spending and our unprecedented national debt. After yesterday's report, 
it is clear we cannot wait any longer to address this crisis.
  Americans have relied on programs such as Medicare and Social 
Security for decades. It would be dishonest and unfair not to tell them 
the truth about these programs--that they are near collapse and that 
urgent reform is needed to bring them back to sustainability. More than 
800,000 Kentuckians receive Social Security benefits, and nearly that 
many are enrolled in Medicare. They deserve our honesty. And they 
deserve action from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. We need to 
make sure programs such as Social Security and Medicare remain viable 
for them and for their children and their grandchildren.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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