Harry Reid: “I say to my friend from Wyoming, it is true we have the second largest surplus in the history of this country; however…”

“I say to my friend from Wyoming, it is true we have the second largest surplus in the history of this country; however, it is all Social Security money. The administration keeps talking about this huge surplus. They never give a caveat, saying, yes, we have the second largest surplus, but the reason we have that is because in 1983, the Congress, with Thomas ``Tip'' O'Neill, Claude Pepper, Senator Byrd, and President Reagan, got together and said, let's forward fund Social Security. In fact, Social Security has been forward funded, recognizing the baby boomers would have to receive large sums of money up front. So when the baby boomers come, there will be money. If we did nothing with Social Security, everyone would draw 100 percent of their benefits until about the year 2030. After 2030, if we did nothing, they would still draw 75 to 80 percent of benefits. The debate is to make sure after the year 2030 Social Security recipients receive all their benefits. For Members to say President Bush is such a great guy, he has the second largest surplus in the history of the country, is disingenuous. It is not factual. The surplus is as a result of Social Security.”