Jim Bunning: “ever since I came to Congress in 1987, I have worked hard for a balanced budget. A balanced budget is the finest…”

“ever since I came to Congress in 1987, I have worked hard for a balanced budget. A balanced budget is the finest guarantee that Government will be able to honor its commitments, and I believe we will keep our promise to balance the budget. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security under the Committee on Ways and Means, I have made it my job to protect Social Security and make sure benefits will be there for our senior citizens. Over 43 million people, 43 million, receive Social Security benefits overall. Social Security makes up 40 percent of all the retirement income in this country--40 percent. We cannot desert the people who have worked for 20, 30, 40, 50 years and will soon retire. We must keep our promises. We must not jeopardize their benefits. That is why I am not going to vote for the Budget Enforcement Act. The fact is the bill caps entitlements, including Social Security. If the Social Security cap is breached, the bill specifies that any cost-of-living adjustment be reduced or eliminated as a first step toward eliminating that breach. This just is not right and it is not fair. As we all know, Social Security has the largest, best organized, most vocal constituency of any program. Americans are not looking for any nifty fixes to ensure the future of Social Security. Americans want real reform based on informed, thorough, and deliberative debate.”