Political Quotes

“again I thank our ranking member on our Subcommittee on Social Security and also the chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security. I know we have a difference of opinion on this issue; and I guess it is frustrating, because with what is happening with our general budget, this year, this Congress and this government will take $155 billion and borrow it from the Social Security trust fund, and what is it paying for? A lot of folks will say it is paying for the war in Iraq. No, it is also paying for tax cuts that this House passed on two different occasions. But by this bill today, we are going to take away these same Social Security trust funds that are for these widows and people who paid into Social Security. Again, let me explain to my colleagues, these are people who may never have paid into Social Security. If they did, they are subject to government pension offset, like everyone. But these people never paid in. They were educators or firefighters or police officers in a system that was not part of Social Security, but they paid into their own pension fund; and if their spouses die and they have been married for less than 10 years, we will not pay them their spousal benefit. I do not know how much harder this Congress can get.…”