Kent Conrad: “I rise today to join Senator Voinovich of Ohio in introducing a new Social Security lockbox proposal, the Truth in…”

“I rise today to join Senator Voinovich of Ohio in introducing a new Social Security lockbox proposal, the Truth in Budgeting Act of 2005. For years, I have urged my colleagues to stop what I believe is the reckless practice of raiding Social Security trust fund surpluses to pay for other things. By failing to save these surpluses, we are putting future generations in the position of having to borrow trillions of dollars to make good on our Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and other commitments. The legislation Senator Voinovich and I are introducing today would not only take Washington's hand out of the Social Security cookie jar, it would literally take the cookie jar away. If our bill is adopted, Social Security surpluses and other trust fund surpluses would no longer be used to fund other functions of Government and to mask the size of the Federal deficit. Instead, Social Security payroll taxes would be used to provide future Social Security benefits, as they were always intended. Our bill would end the practice of spending trust fund surpluses. Instead, it would require those surpluses to be set aside and invested in a broadbased bond index fund that will be drawn on to finance our future obligations. In many ways, this legislation is a truth-in- budgeting bill because it will force us to recognize the true size of our fiscal deficit.…”