Kent Conrad: “I think the record is abundantly clear. Those who were proponents of the amendment clearly intended to raid Social…”

“I think the record is abundantly clear. Those who were proponents of the amendment clearly intended to raid Social Security trust funds in order to pay for other Government expenses to reduce the budget deficit. That is precisely what was going on last week. Any attempt to say that is not the case is to rewrite history. Now, as one who was involved in that negotiation, let us review what occurred. Some have said we are raiding the trust funds now. Well, that is absolutely correct. We are raiding the trust funds now. It does not make it right. And to suggest we ought to enshrine that principle and that policy in the Constitution of the United States is dead wrong. To constitutionalize a raiding of trust funds to pay for other Government expenses I believe is a wrong principle. Let me just say that when I was tax commissioner of the State of North Dakota, I opposed raiding trust funds to pay for Government expenses. I think it is a wrong principle. We should not be doing it at this level either.”