Political Quotes

“those who are arguing that the current form of the balanced budget amendment puts Social Security at risk are undeniably correct. The amendment says that in the year 2002 it will be mandatory that any surplus from Social Security be used to reduce the overall deficit elsewhere in the Federal Government for the purposes of achieving balance. What this means is that there will be a constitutional imperative to the Congress to cut Social Security expenditures if they need to do that to make up the deficit elsewhere. That is not an academic threat. The Speaker of this House has demanded that the Bureau of Labor Statistics recalculate the Consumer Price Index. Reducing the Consumer Price Index has as its major impact saying that older people get less of a cost-of-living increase under Social Security. So when the Republicans push a form of the balanced budget amendment that allows, indeed, compels, any surplus in Social Security to be used to offset a deficit elsewhere and simultaneously argues that we should cut the Consumer Price Index, which has as its major fiscal impact reducing the cost-of-living increase, we see why Senators are right to oppose this amendment in its current form.”