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Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 105 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION

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Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 105 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 105 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 144 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1998 No. 122 Senate The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was conferences there will be 10 minutes for THE SURPLUS IS SOCIAL called to order by the President pro closing remarks in relation to the SECURITY tempore (Mr. THURMOND). Bumpers amendment. At the expira- Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the tion of that time, approximately 2:25 proposals by House Republican leaders PRAYER p.m., the Senate will proceed to a vote to spend a major portion of the pro- The Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd John on or in relation to the amendment. jected budget surplus on tax cuts for Ogilvie, offered the following prayer: Following that vote, the Senate will the wealthiest citizens gives new mean- Dear Father, the psalmist's words continue consideration of the Interior ing to the word ``irresponsible.'' Any serve as our motto for today. ``This is bill. Members are encouraged to offer such cut would rob Social Security re- the day which the Lord has made. I and debate amendments during Tues- cipients of the retirement benefits they will rejoice and be glad in it.''ÐPs. day afternoon's session so the Senate have earned and deserve. Yet the House 118:24. You have all authority in heav- can make good progress on the Interior Republicans want to spend this ``sur- en and on earth. You are sovereign bill. The Senate may also consider any plus'' before it even materializes, in an Lord of our lives and of our Nation. We other legislative or executive items election eve vote-buying scheme of submit to Your authority. We seek to cleared for action. massive proportions. Every Senator on serve You together here in this Cham- I thank my colleagues for their at- both sides of the aisle who is serious ber and in the offices that work to help tention. about preserving Social Security for make the Senators' deliberations run future generations has a duty to reject smoothly. We commit to You all that f these outrageous proposals. we do and say this day. Before we spend it, wouldn't it be Make it a productive day for the Sen- MORNING BUSINESS wise to at least ask where this pro- ators. Give them positive attitudes jected surplus comes from? The answer that exude hope. In each difficult im- The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under is clearÐand shocking in its meaning. passe, help them seek Your guidance. the previous order, there will now be a Ninety-eight percent of the ten-year Draw them closer to You so that, in period for the transaction of morning surplus projected by the Congressional Your presence, they can rediscover business. The distinguished Senator Budget Office comes from the Social that, in spite of differences in particu- from Massachusetts, Senator KENNEDY, Security Trust Fund. The issue is not lars, they are here to serve You and our is recognized. whether we should use the surplus to beloved Nation together. In our Lord Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, we are ``save Social Security,'' the surplus is and Savior's Name. Amen. in morning business. The amount of Social Security. Using those dollars to time has not been designated, but I f pay for anything other than retirement yield myself 6 minutes. Then, if there benefits for future Social Security re- RECOGNITION OF THE ACTING are others from our side who wanted to cipients would be an act of political MAJORITY LEADER speak, we would move ahead, if that is grand larceny. The victims would be The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The agreeable. those hard-working men and women able acting majority leader is recog- Mr. MURKOWSKI addressed the who are counting on Social Security to nized. Chair. protect them in their retirement years. f Mr. KENNEDY. I am glad to yield to The term ``surplus,'' as it is used in the Senator from Alaska. the budget debate, means only that the SCHEDULE Mr. MURKOWSKI. From the stand- total amount of revenue received by Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. President, point of procedure, I would be pleased the Federal Government in a particular this morning the Senate will be in a pe- if I could be recognized after the distin- year exceeds the total amount that the riod of morning business until 10 a.m. guished Senators who are seeking rec- government will spend in that year. In Following morning business, the Sen- ognition. Senator KENNEDY is. Is the the current fiscal year, for the first ate will resume consideration of the In- Senator from California seeking rec- time since 1969, the Federal Govern- terior appropriations bill, with Senator ognition? ment will take in more dollars than it Bumpers being recognized to offer an My point is, if I could be third after spends. But this so-called ``surplus'' amendment related to mining. her? does not take into consideration any The Senate will recess from 12:30 The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. future financial obligations of the Gov- until 2:15 to allow the weekly party HUTCHINSON). Without objection, it is ernment, such as the obligation to pay conferences to meet. Following the so ordered. Social Security benefits to retirees in · This ``bullet'' symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S10331 . S10332 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð SENATE September 15, 1998 the future. The surplus is not extra longs to the Social Security Trust Mrs. FEINSTEIN addressed the money which Congress can spend on Fund. It is being raised to pay for re- Chair. any worthy cause. It is money which tirement benefitsÐand any diversion of The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- must be set aside to pay those future any portion of those funds is wrong. ator from California. obligations. Congressman KASICH, the House Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I The overall surplus is equal to the Budget Chairman, offered an interest- yield myself 10 minutes. surplus in the Social Security Trust ing variation on this Republican The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Fund minus the deficit in the rest of theme. He has suggested that the inter- ator only has 71¤2 minutes. the government. When Social Security est earned on reserves in the Social Se- Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I will try to do it reserves are removed from the calcula- curity Trust Fund does not belong to in 71¤2 minutes. I thank the Chair. tion, the surpluses over the next seven Social Security, and should be used to f years evaporate. Budget deficits con- finance tax cuts. That too is absurd. ``I GAO STUDIES FIND MAJOR PROB- tinue through fiscal year 2001, followed only stole the interest'' is hardly a le- LEMS WITH CUSTOMS' ANTI- by four years of roughly balanced non- gitimate defense for a person charged DRUG ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS Social Security budgets. Not until 2006 with embezzlement. does any meaningful surplus appear The interest earned on the reserves is Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I without counting Social Security re- clearly part of the Social Security rise to bring this body's attention to a Trust Fund, just as interest earned by serves. number of very serious problems that The Congressional Budget Office has a private citizen's bank account is part have now been documented in the U.S. projected a surplus of $1.55 trillion over of that account and part of the citi- Customs Service's drug enforcement ef- the next ten years. Of that amount, zen's income. All of the reports issued forts at ports of entry on the South- by the Social Security actuaries on the $1.52 trillionÐ98%Ðis Social Security west Border. state of Social Security finances re- reserves, which consist of the payroll Back in March 1996, I asked the Gen- flect these interest earnings. Pension tax payments made by employees and eral Accounting Office to investigate funds, bank accounts, and other assets employers during the next decade and the continuing influx of drugs entering earn interest, and so does the Social interest earned on Social Security our country across the border with Security Trust Fund. Using the inter- Trust Fund during that period. Mexico, and the inability or unwilling- est earned on the Social Security Trust Every one of those dollars will be ness of the Customs Service to effec- Funds to finance tax cuts would con- needed to honor our commitment to fu- tively address the problem. I was espe- sume hundreds of billions of dollars ture retirees. Only $31 billion of the ten cially concerned about reports that that otherwise will be used to help re- year projected surplusÐan average of trucks loaded with drugs were coming store the financial integrity of Social $3 billion a yearÐis not already com- into the country without inspection by Security over the long term. If the in- mitted to meeting future Social Secu- Customs. terest earnings are removed from the rity obligations, and that amount The investigation by the GAO over trust fund, Social Security's financial could easily disappear with only a the past 18 months has now confirmed problems would become much greater. my long-standing concerns that there slight shift in the economy. If Social Security reserves are not are major weaknesses in several Cus- A $520 billion surplus is projected available for the Trust Fund in the fu- over the next five years, and it is com- ture because they have been used to toms' programs that were supposed to posed entirely of Social Security re- pay for tax cuts, then it is clear that help separate so-called ``low-risk'' serves.
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