[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26877]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 CONGRESS IS TRYING TO STOP THE RAID ON SOCIAL SECURITY FOR THE PEOPLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Kentucky (Mrs. Northup) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. NORTHUP. Mr. Speaker, this Congress is committed to restoring 
the faith and opportunity into our government system.
  For years, Congress after Congress has dipped into the social 
security trust fund to pay for new programs with little accountability 
of how funds were to be used and an empty promise to pay it back. The 
Congresses of yesteryear broke trust with the American people, and now 
all generations are suffering.
  Mr. Speaker, it is enshrined forever in the three opening words of 
the living document that we swear our allegiance to, our Constitution. 
Our Founders had the great and good sense to use the words ``We, the 
people.'' The people is why Congress is fighting so hard to stop the 
raid on social security.
  It is not about which party is in control, who kept their promises, 
and who broke theirs. It is about having a social security system for 
the people when they need it, our parents and grandparents who need it 
now and in the future. It is about maintaining the system so that our 
children may be protected, and it is about the price our children must 
pay to get the same benefits as their descendents did. It is about 
drawing the line on new Federal spending now, so that our children do 
not have to continue to fund this never-ending stream of new programs 
being requested by this administration.
  Mr. Speaker, this Congress is very much about the people. We are 
listening to the conversations around dinner tables, in bingo halls, 
and in the grocery store parking lots. This is why this House has 
restored the faith by having every penny in the social security surplus 
to provide the retirement system for working Americans. It is the 
common sense of the American people which tells us to stop the raid on 
social security.
  This Congress is using common sense, and will continue the commitment 
to social security and the people of this Nation. Our only hope is that 
this administration will stop calling for more spending and make this 
commitment, as well. We, the people, will prevail again.

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