JOHN LINDER: “sometime during the year 2013, the funds we pay out to Social Security recipients are going to exceed the funds coming…”

“sometime during the year 2013, the funds we pay out to Social Security recipients are going to exceed the funds coming in to finance the system. Despite the White House war room rhetoric, the Clinton budget does nothing to save Social Security. If my colleagues do not believe me, they should listen to this. In February, David Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States, stated, and I quote, ``The President's proposal does not alter the projected cash flow imbalances in the Social Security program.'' It is true. The President's proposal does not save Social Security. The only way that Clinton's numbers add up is through a faulty double- counting scheme. This is not a Republican complaint. Some of Social Security's chief defenders, members of the President's party, have said that the President's approach is based largely on imaginative accounting. We do not need any more shell games and number schemes for Social Security. We just need a system that can ensure tomorrow's seniors that their savings will be there when they retire without government interference. We desperately need the President to be a leader on the tough issues. We cannot waste this historic opportunity to preserve the Nation's Social Security program. Unfortunately, the President's budget represents his typical rhetoric and sloganeering at its worst.”