Thomas Daschle: “there is an old saying heard quite often in the midwest and perhaps other parts of the country as well. The saying is…”

“there is an old saying heard quite often in the midwest and perhaps other parts of the country as well. The saying is ``what you see is what you get.'' The adage is as simple as it is straightforward. It's a way of letting another person know there will be no surprises--good or bad--associated with the person or object in question. Things are pretty much as they appear. Unfortunately, the proponents of this legislation, the so-called ``Social Security Surplus Preservation And Debt Reduction Act,'' do not subscribe to this plainspoken logic. In fact, quite the contrary. What you see when you examine their language is quite different from what you get when you listen to their rhetoric. They argue they are preserving Social Security. Their own bill language says otherwise. They argue they are reducing the public debt. Again, their bill language betrays them. And finally, they argue they have created a sound mechanism to lock away Social Security. The Treasury Department tells us differently. Mr. President, if votes on this bill are based on what people see and not on what they would actually get, I am confident this measure will be defeated. I strongly recommend that course of action. Let me state at this time that I and every member of the Democratic caucus totally support the objectives expressed by this bill's authors. We must ensure that every dollar of Social Security taxes is dedicated solely and exclusively to Social Security benefits.”