Frank Lautenberg: “Mr. President, I support the underlying bill to reform the rules governing emergency spending that has been reported out…”

“Mr. President, I support the underlying bill to reform the rules governing emergency spending that has been reported out of the Committee on Governmental Affairs. Two amendments to that bill have now been offered, a first-degree amendment and a second-degree amendment, which blocks further amendments. The pending amendments are proposing to establish what is being called a Social Security lockbox. Unfortunately, this lockbox is not secure. And it actually could undermine Social Security. We Democrats have a far better alternative. Ours is a true lockbox. And it protects both Social Security and Medicare in a much more responsible way. Emergency spending is not casual spending. It is so important that it is exempt from budget rules. And that is as it ought to be, because it involves responding to things like floods, earthquakes and volcanoes. Those are emergencies. They are immediate threats to American public health and safety, and Congress often has to act promptly to avoid the loss of life and property. Unfortunately, the emergency exception has been abused.”