[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20876-20877]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            SOCIAL SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, looking forward to 2005, there 
are few more important issues for government than overspending and 
overpromising. Unless we get spending under

[[Page 20877]]

control, government will lose the ability to do much of anything else 
except manage our indebtedness. Already we pay nearly $300 billion a 
year, approaching 12 percent of our total expenditures for interest on 
the debt. That is $300 billion a year on interest. And interest rates 
are going up, our debt is going up, and that cost is rising very 
rapidly.
  This fight will influence the kind of lives that our kids have. Why 
do we not pay attention to the problems of the insolvency of Social 
Security and Medicare? Why do we not look at the problems that this 
kind of overpromising and overspending are going to have on the economy 
of the United States? The challenge facing Congress will be to restore 
our reputation for fiscal restraint.
  The Federal Government is now running the largest budget deficit in 
our history, which is estimated to be $574 billion for the fiscal year 
that just ended September 30, and we will soon have to increase the 
$7.384 trillion statutory debt limit in order to accommodate this 
borrowing, which our children and our grandchildren are ultimately 
going to have to assume the responsibility for.
  I cannot think of harsher words than maybe unconscionable, maybe too 
interested in our political futures to do what is necessary to deal 
with these tough problems. This overexpenditure, the debt, is only a 
small part of the total problem. Overpromising is the larger issue, and 
that deals with the chart I have before us tonight, and that is this 
massive unfunded liability.
  The deficit and debt, unfortunately, are only the beginning of our 
financial problems. These figures come from Dr. Tom Savings, who is a 
professor of economics at Texas A&M and also a trustee for both Social 
Security and Medicare. He has calculated that the total unfunded 
liabilities for the three programs of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social 
Security are now $73.5 trillion.
  That means to accommodate our promises we are going to have to come 
up with $73 billion, put it in our savings account, and that is going 
to draw interest, at least to accommodate inflation, to keep the 
promises. There is no way we can do this. We are headed for a reality 
of the financial sky is falling on the United States Congress.
  The issues of changing the programs have been demagogued so that 
Republicans can accuse Democrats when they suggest any change, and 
Democrats can accuse the Republicans of ruining Social Security and 
Medicare.
  In conclusion, let me briefly run down through the unfunded 
liabilities of the different parts. Medicare part A, which is mostly 
the hospitals, is a $21.8 trillion unfunded liability, the amount you 
would have to put in an account today. Medicare part B, $23 trillion. 
That is mostly doctors. Medicare part D, the new prescription drug 
program, adds to the unfunded liability $16.6 trillion. Social Security 
is running at about $12 trillion.
  We have got to deal with these problems. Maybe next year, after the 
election, whichever President is elected, we will have the guts, we 
will have the intestinal fortitude to move ahead in trying to solve and 
make changes to these programs so that we can continue what we have 
promised the American people. They are important programs. There is 
going to be dramatic changes. The longer we wait, the more drastic the 
changes will have to be. That was the conclusion of the bipartisan task 
force on Social Security that I chaired.
  The challenge is great for this body, the Senate, and the White 
House; and I ask, Mr. Speaker, that the electorate of this Nation ask 
those candidates running for office, for the Congress, for the Senate, 
for the Presidency what they are going to do about these huge problems 
facing our kids and our grandkids.

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