[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1810]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE LOCKBOX LEGISLATION

  (Mr. GRAVES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, for over 30 years, the Social Security and 
Medicare Part A trust funds have been used to distort the budget 
surplus numbers and mask deficits. This must not continue.
  Today we have the opportunity to cast a vote that will end this 
shortsighted and fiscally irresponsible practice. Today we have the 
opportunity to lock away all surpluses in the Social Security and 
Medicare trust funds and ensure that these funds can only be spent to 
provide retirement and health care security for our seniors.
  Mr. Speaker, the first step to saving Social Security and Medicare is 
to stop spending it on unrelated government programs. This is an 
essential first step to preserve and strengthen these programs for 
current and future retirees.
  I urge my colleagues to send a clear message to all Americans and end 
the raid on Social Security and Medicare.

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