Lincoln Chafee: “I want to pay tribute to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a man for whom I had the utmost respect. One of the first times I was…”

“I want to pay tribute to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a man for whom I had the utmost respect. One of the first times I was presiding in the Senate, Senator Moynihan was speaking from the floor. What he had to say and the way he said it made a lasting impression on me. The next day I asked for a copy of the statement and have kept it in my desk ever since. Senator Moynihan began: ``Mr. President, it is agreed that I will begin these brief remarks in order that our chairman might conclude the debate and proceed to the vote which I think has every prospect of being prodigious in its majority.'' He continued to explain one of the most complicated and difficult issues that we will deal with here in the Senate in a clear and concise manner. ``In very short order, I would simply like to recapitulate the four simple steps which will put Social Security on an actuarially sound basis for the next 75 years. They are: 1. Provide for an accurate cost-of-living adjustment. In 1996, the Boskin Commission originally estimated that the CPI overstates changes in the cost-of-living by 1.1 percentage points; now they say it is 0.8 of a percentage point; 2. Normal taxation of benefits; 3. Extend coverage to all newly hired State and local workers; 4. Increase the length of the computation period from 35 to 38 years.'' I don't know if this is the answer, but I will always refer to it when the topic of Social Security comes up.”