[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4656]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM

  (Mr. CUMMINGS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, our Nation's Social Security system has 
traditionally been a safety net for citizens hoping to live long and 
fruitful lives. However, changes in our society's economic and social 
conditions warrant reform.
  The facts are abundantly clear. The trust fund will be depleted by 
2032. As such, the current debate is not about the necessity of reform, 
but what structural revisions will preserve the system long-term.
  I believe that reform should be synonymous with guarantee; that is, 
guaranteed minimum benefits for decades to come. Reforms that do not 
ensure system solvency or include pension or private savings plan 
without such a guarantee, frankly, are indefensible.
  Today I urge my colleagues to support reform that, as Franklin 
Roosevelt said, takes care of human needs throughout the next 
millennium.

                          ____________________