[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 28507]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



     ONLY HALF A NOTCH IN AMERICA'S BELT WILL SAVE SOCIAL SECURITY

  (Mr. TIAHRT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, some time ago, the Democrats sent a letter 
to the Congressional Budget Office, the CBO, and it had some bogus 
ground rules; and what they got back said that we were spending Social 
Security under these bogus ground rules.
  Their whole purpose for doing that is so that they can spend more 
money. They have shown the programs and they have talked about the 
programs that they want to spend the extra money on. Well, rest in 
peace, liberal big government. We are not going to do it.
  In fact, we have got a letter from the Congressional Budget Officer 
that says, if we do not spend more than $592.1 billion on domestic 
discretionary spending, we will not spend any Social Security surplus. 
Along with that, we have put in a 1 percent across-the-board cut, which 
is like taking a half a notch in this belt, just tightening up just a 
half a notch. That is all we would have to do, and we passed that; and, 
in fact, we are not going to spend the Social Security surplus. That is 
the fact of the matter. The Congressional Budget Office confirmed that 
in a letter.
  Now, if we are going to do what they are recommending, we would have 
to take four notches up in this belt. Now, America knows we could do 
that four notches and protect Social Security, but yet the liberals 
have failed to offer any program reduction.

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