Richard Gephardt: “I rise to urge Members to vote ``no'' against this rule. Over 1 year ago, Republicans passed an economic plan. They said…”

“I rise to urge Members to vote ``no'' against this rule. Over 1 year ago, Republicans passed an economic plan. They said at the time that their plan would generate economic growth, protect the surplus that we built up in the 1990s, and safeguard Social Security. Republicans enacted a giant tax bill for the wealthy, while promising that there would be enough room in the budget for Social Security, education, Medicare prescription drugs, and the defense of the United States of America. Today, Republicans are making it clear that they are refusing to confront the consequences of their economic plan. This rule is an outrage. It places full faith and credit language in the bill to avoid a desperate request by the President's Secretary of the Treasury to bail the administration out of the economic folly of their own making. It hides the fact that Republicans took a record surplus, turned it into a huge and mounting deficit, and put Social Security in jeopardy. It makes a mockery of the Republican rhetoric to safeguard the trust fund. It makes a mockery of the Republican votes to create a lockbox. It ignores and it weakens our intergenerational contract and commitment in the 21st century. Instead, Republicans refuse to work with Democrats. They deny debate on a plan the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moore) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) sought to offer. That plan provides a way out of spending the Social Security surplus.”