Bob Wise: “I rise to oppose this rule. We hear a lot about there being a surplus but the reality is it is in Social Security. I…”

“I rise to oppose this rule. We hear a lot about there being a surplus but the reality is it is in Social Security. I have the greatest respect and friendship for the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules. He is irrepressible when it comes to the Reagan years, and certainly President Reagan was a strong President in many ways. He was also strong because he left us the strongest deficit in history. We went from $70 billion to $200 billion and deficits as long and far as the eye can see according to a former Reagan aide. So what does this bill do? It continues the same pattern, because you cut taxes, that was part of the Reagan formula, and yet you do not do anything really about the spending. I do not support election-year tax cuts that come from Social Security. Now, they say they are going to put 90 percent of it in a lock box. But my question is, if you are going to save 90 percent of Social Security, why not save 100 percent? What happened to that radical idea, 100 percent of Social Security? I support tax cuts but not until Social Security is preserved. The irony to this is the American worker pays into Social Security, you are going to tell them that you are giving them a tax cut and yet the tax cut is going to come at the price of what they have been paying into for many years for their retirement.”