Byron Dorgan: “I have great respect for all of those Senators. But I respectfully believe that they are wrong on the issue of Social…”

“I have great respect for all of those Senators. But I respectfully believe that they are wrong on the issue of Social Security and its relationship to the balanced budget amendment. I observe again the history so that people understand where we are. These facts I expect are not in dispute. In 1983 it was determined that Social Security was going to be in some longer-term difficulty and a Social Security reform package was enacted by the Congress. I was a part of that because I was a part of the Ways and Means Committee in the U.S. House that actually originated the legislation. In that legislation we determined to do something very responsible. We determined to trim back some benefits in Social Security, extend the age for Social Security recipients from 65 to 67 over a long period of time and raise some payroll taxes, all of that in order to create a yearly surplus in the Social Security trust funds to save it for the long term. This year $69 billion more is being collected in the Social Security trust fund than is needed this year for Social Security.”