E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 109 CONGRESS, FIRSTSESSION Vol. 151 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2005 No. 56 Senate The Senate was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Monday, May 9, 2005, at 2 p.m. House of Representatives TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2005 The House met at 12:30 p.m. and was he wants to take to deal with the po- of the Social Security actuaries of the called to order by the Speaker pro tem- tential, possible, future funding short- President’s proposed cuts. pore (Mr. PETRI). falls in Social Security. He used some Now let us say that young person f unfortunate verbiage. He said Social graduating from college is going to be- Security will be bankrupt in 2041. It come an entrepreneur, small business DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO will not be bankrupt; it will pay 75 per- person and do pretty well with a truly TEMPORE cent of promised benefits under very small business, and they average The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- conservative economic assumptions $58,000 a year throughout their life- fore the House the following commu- into the indefinite future, or 2053 if we time. What would the President do to nication from the Speaker: use the estimates of the Republican them? He would cut their Social Secu- WASHINGTON, DC, Congressional Budget Office. So it rity benefit from $26,000 to $19,800 May 3, 2005. would not be bankrupt in any sense. which would be a 25-percent cut which I hereby appoint the Honorable THOMAS E. But he did talk about the possibility they could get if Social Security went, PETRI to act as Speaker pro tempore on this there could be a shortfall in Social Se- under the President’s words, bankrupt. day. curity starting 40 or 50 years from That is if Congress did nothing and So- J. DENNIS HASTERT, today. That is progress that he is be- cial Security had a shortfall starting 40 Speaker of the House of Representatives. ginning to talk about that problem. He or 50 years from today. Under the f actually offered a solution, for once. worst-case scenario, that person would MORNING HOUR DEBATES His privatization plan he has admitted get the same. But the President wants would in fact make Social Security’s to guarantee a cut in that person’s ben- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- finances worse, has nothing to do with efits. Remember, this does not have ant to the order of the House of Janu- dealing with the future possible poten- anything to do with the President’s ary 4, 2005, the Chair will now recog- tial shortfalls in the Social Security privatization plan which would further nize Members from lists submitted by trust fund, the program as we know it undermine the finances of Social Secu- the majority and minority leaders for today. He said, finally, let us talk rity and accelerate the date of what morning hour debates. The Chair will about how we might get there. the President calls bankruptcy, others alternate recognition between the par- He cloaked benefit cuts in a veneer in call trust fund exhaustion, I call ben- ties, with each party limited to not to high-falutin rhetoric. He called it pro- efit reductions. exceed 30 minutes, and each Member, gressive indexing of wages. What he is The funny thing is that half of the except the majority leader, the minor- talking about is benefit cuts. Who American people pay more in taxes to ity leader, or the minority whip, lim- would pay the benefit cuts? Let us take Social Security than Federal income ited to not to exceed 5 minutes. someone who is 22 years old, graduated taxes. They have a lot invested in this The Chair recognizes the gentleman from college last year. They are a pub- program, and they would like to see from Oregon (Mr. DEFAZIO) for 5 min- lic schoolteacher. They are going to the benefits when they retire. utes. work the next 40 years as a public Now, it is a little different for rich f schoolteacher and hope to retire in people. Let us take the President on their 60s with a Social Security ben- his modest $400,000 which is a lot less SOCIAL SECURITY WILL NOT GO efit. If they earn $36,000 average over than he earns from his private invest- BANKRUPT their lifetime, their benefits would be ments. Let us just take his salary and Mr. DEFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, well, last cut by 16 percent, $3,000 a year. Their pretend that is all he has. He stopped week the President finally revealed a proposed benefit would go from $19,800 paying Social Security taxes on the few more specifics about the direction down to $16,500. These are calculations morning of March 24. That American b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H2745 . VerDate Aug 31 2005 05:02 Nov 16, 2006 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0636 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORDCX\T37X$J0E\H03MY5.REC H03MY5 mmaher on PROD1PC70 with CONG-REC-ONLINE H2746 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 3, 2005 that earns $36,000 or $58,000 or even ASTHMA AWARENESS DAY the bill. We might call Kelsey a true $90,000 pays Social Security tax every The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- respiration inspiration. She shares a day of the year, this year, with the ex- ant to the order of the House of Janu- quote, ‘‘My mom told me in some pectation they will get a benefit; but ary 4, 2005, the gentleman from Florida schools, there are children like myself not so for people who earn more, (Mr. STEARNS) is recognized during who need the EpiPen with them, but it $90,000, including Members of Congress. morning hour debates for 5 minutes. is locked far away in the clinic.’’ She When income hits $90,000, the tax goes Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, tomor- told the committee that if someone away. The President stopped paying on row is Asthma Awareness Day. I rise to needed their EpiPen, it might not get March 24, and he wants to cut the bene- celebrate the October 2003 enacted to them in time. fits of people who pay that tax every Asthmatic Students Treatment and Kelsey’s charisma and dedication led day this year, many of them a bigger Health Management Act, ASTHMA. It legislators in Tallahassee to rename tax than they pay to the Federal Gov- is now Public Law 108–377 and was H.R. H.B. 279 the Kelsey Ryan Act. More ernment under income taxes, particu- 2023 in the House and the Senate bill than 60 State legislators cosponsored larly low-income people. was S. 2815. I introduced this with the the bill which the House passed earlier Let us take some other friends of the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. this month 114 to 0. The Senate passed President. The heads of Viacom, Tom KENNEDY), and Senator ENZI and Sen- it last week, and it is on the desk of Freston and Les Moonves, they stopped ator KENNEDY carried the mantle there. Governor Jeb Bush. paying the Social Security tax at 4 Mr. Speaker, this law provides incen- Brenda Olson, director of govern- a.m. on January 2 because they earn tives for States to pass favorable laws mental affairs for the American Lung $77,000 a day. So at 4 a.m. on January that guarantee that students can carry Association of Florida points out that 2, their obligations to Social Security and use prescribed medicine and ana- ‘‘most schools in Florida do not allow went away. Despite their huge $20 mil- phylaxis medications while in school. students to carry the EpiPen.’’ As we lion salary, they will pay one one-thou- It is not a mandate, and incurs no new have been saying for years, ‘‘Moments sandth of 1 percent of their salary to spending. The idea has been germi- count when these reactions start.’’ Social Security, but working Ameri- nating since the early 1990s and has Kelsey’s mother, Blair Ryan, empha- cans are going to pay 6.2 percent of been building momentum since. sized another point we made in our bill, every paycheck and self-employed will On Asthma Awareness Day, May 7, H.R. 2023, that this is a team effort be- pay 12.4 percent of every paycheck, and 2003, there were only 20 asthma-friend- tween the student, the parents, the the President wants to cut their bene- ly States in our United States. Even physician, and the school. If a parent fits. But he does not want to cut the more limiting, of these 20, only nine and physician believe that a student is tax cuts for Mr. Moonves or Mr. extended that protection even further mature and competent to treat him or Freston, and he does not want to cut to anaphylaxis medication like epi- herself, a school should not impede this the tax cuts for himself. nephrine auto-injectors. Today, accord- medical regimen, but help it work for the student. There is a better way to solve the So- ing to the Allergy and Asthma Net- work, Mothers of Asthmatics, we have Currently, school districts across cial Security problem, and I will talk Florida have different policies on this about that another day.