[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 26459]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    REPUBLICANS HAVE ALREADY DIPPED INTO SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUND

  (Mr. DOGGETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, ``do not be fooled?'' Well, it is near 
trick or treat time, and what is the trick that the Republican majority 
is concerned about? Well, here is the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), 
the majority leader for the Republicans, saying it is Social Security 
that is a ``bad retirement,'' a ``rotten trick'' on the American 
people.
  As my colleague from Texas was just pointing out (Mr. Green), these 
views are ones that Mr. Armey keeps repeating. Questioned just a few 
years ago he was asked, ``Are you going to take the pledge? Are you 
going to promise not to cut people's Social Security to meet these 
promises? '' The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey): ``No, I am not going 
to make such a promise.''
  Our Republican colleagues are the good folks who now come and tell us 
they want to preserve the Social Security Trust Fund. They did not vote 
for Social Security. They do not like Social Security. They want to 
substitute some privatized Social Security Wall Street private plan for 
the Social Security that has been so important to the American people 
over the last 60 years.
  Let us protect Social Security, let us recognize the Republicans have 
already dipped into the Social Security trust fund, and let us preserve 
Social Security for the future.

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