John Joseph Moakley: “Mr. Speaker, people are starting to get their hopes up with this budget. With the new surplus and the new millennium, it…”

“Mr. Speaker, people are starting to get their hopes up with this budget. With the new surplus and the new millennium, it looks like anything is possible. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, they are in for a huge disappointment. Last week's unveiling of my Republican colleagues' new budget proved to be more of the same: All bad ideas. Despite predictions of Medicare and Social Security catastrophes looming on the horizon, the Republican budget does nothing to extend the life of either Social Security or Medicare for even one day. But it still manages to siphon $775 billion into tax cuts for the richest Americans, instead of investing in education, health care, to prepare this country for the next century. Like Nero, Mr. Speaker, the Republican budget fiddles while Social Security and Medicare burn. The chief actuary of the Social Security Administration has said this budget will have virtually no effect on the date that Social Security becomes insolvent. It will just make sure that it goes broke on schedule. That is not me speaking, Mr. Speaker. That is the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration. In contrast, the Democratic budget has a lock box which will protect Social Security until the year 2050 and protect Medicare until the year 2020.”