[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12304]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



              KEEPING SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE SOLVENT

  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, this afternoon the President is 
releasing his mid-session economic review. That review indicates that 
there will be over $800 billion more revenues coming into the Federal 
Government in the next 10 years than was projected just last January, 
$800 billion. There is a substantial increase in this year, 2000, of 
$45 billion more than we anticipated just 6 months ago. It is $64 
billion more next year in 2001 than we anticipated.
  That means that the Social Security ``lockbox'' as well as the 
Medicare ``lockbox'' that we passed last week is going to be 
maintained. It means that, with a little discipline from this body, we 
will not be spending that Social Security surplus or the Medicare trust 
fund surplus.
  I think we are in a unique position and that unique position means 
that we have an opportunity now to keep Social Security and Medicare 
solvent. We have an opportunity to make the kind of changes that will 
not leave our kids and our grandkids with a huge debt and, in effect, 
say to them that they are going to be responsible for paying off that 
kind of debt, that now amounts to $5.7 trillion.
  And why would they be responsible for more debt? It is because this 
body and the President of the United States have found it to their 
political advantage to simply spend more and more money.
  At some time we are going to have to decide, as part of good public 
policy, how much taxes should be in this country, what is reasonable in 
terms of the percent of what a worker earns, should go for taxes. Right 
now, an average taxpayer, pays 41 percent of every dollar they earn in 
taxes.
  After we decide on a reasonable level of taxation, then we have got 
to prioritize spending. Part of that priority has got to make sure that 
we keep Social Security and Medicare solvent.

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