[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3099]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE BUDGET

  (Mr. RODRIGUEZ asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, Social Security has been a successful 
program that has lifted millions of the Nation's seniors out of 
poverty. Our seniors are facing a dilemma, one that threatens their 
security and trust as they reach their retirement years.
  We must fight to preserve our Social Security trust fund and honor 
our commitment to our seniors. The President's budget does not honor 
this commitment to our seniors, and, in turn, fails all Americans.
  Now is the time for us to focus on a long-term budget plan that will 
not only help recover the economy, but also help recover and make sure 
that our Social Security trust fund is kept intact, returning us to an 
era where we can protect our Social Security and protect our seniors, 
and even strengthen the Social Security trust fund.
  We need to recommit to the idea that Social Security surplus dollars 
are for Social Security, and paying down our national debt is something 
that we all need to do.
  We also are aware of the fact that the President has also appointed a 
committee, and we know that when one stacks a committee, that every 
single member on this committee was for the purpose of privatizing 
Social Security. They had no other motive but to do that. Every single 
one of them on that committee had that one intention.
  Mr. Speaker, it is our responsibility to make sure we protect our 
seniors and future generations.

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