Byron Dorgan: “yesterday I voted for an amendment offered by Senator Hollings. I would like to take a brief moment to explain my vote.…”

“yesterday I voted for an amendment offered by Senator Hollings. I would like to take a brief moment to explain my vote. Senator Hollings is absolutely right in his contention about this budget agreement. The so-called balanced budget agreement that has been hammered out by the White House and the Congress does not, in fact, balance the budget. While the agreement purports to balance the budget, I would urge my colleagues to look at page 4 of the budget resolution, which will put the agreement into effect. It says, in section 101(4) of the resolution, that the budget will be $108 billion in deficit in the year 2002. Why is that the case? Because they are claiming a balanced budget using a ``unified budget,'' which means they can count the Social Security surpluses to offset other deficits. However, as I have said in previous debates, using the Social Security surplus creates a deficit for our future. The surplus that is accrued in the year 2002 in the Social Security accounts is needed in the following decades to fund the retirement needs of the baby boom generation. If that money is now used as an offset against other spending to balance the budget, it will not be there when it is needed to meet Social Security needs in future years. The way to balance the budget in a real and honest way is to do as Senator Hollings suggests.…”