Political Quotes

“we must consider four questions if this is to be considered as a serious and compelling force to constitutionally bar cuts in Social Security benefits. First, is it true that Social Security is currently off budget? Answer: Yes. In 1991 the Budget Enforcement Act did that. Second, it is not true that the Balanced Budget Act puts the Social Security trust fund back on budget? Answer: True, it does. Third, is it not true that even with the Flanagan amendment, Congress could subsequently raid the trust fund to balance the budget under the Balanced Budget Act without penalty? Answer: True. Is it not true that the only ironclad protection for the Social Security trust fund is to write it into the balanced budget amendment, into the text, that Social Security would not be counted as either outlays or receipts? Unless we do that, Mr. Speaker, what we are doing here is merely a rhetorical exercise of stating good intentions that will lead us no further along this compelling question, in the resolution of it, than we were before this concurrent resolution was adopted. Please, Mr. Speaker, let us wait for the Gephardt amendment that would actually take care of this problem.”