The Republicans and Social Security

THE REPUBLICANS AND SOCIAL SECURITY -- (House of Representatives - June 23, 2005)

(Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, what is it that the Republicans really do not like about Social Security? The Social Security system has provided retirement security for millions of Americans. But every time these Republicans start talking about Social Security, things get worse for those retirees. In the Senate the other day they talked about a new plan for Social Security that drastically cuts the benefits of future retirees and current retirees.

Then the Republicans on the House side here decided they had a new plan yesterday, and what did they decide? After borrowing $700 billion from the Social Security trust fund, yesterday the Republicans in the House decided to end that trust fund, to get rid of that trust fund, to make the solvency of Social Security worse now than it is today. That was their plan.

In the Senate, they cut the benefits and here they end the solvency of Social Security by ending the trust fund. They have taken $700 billion out of the trust fund since George Bush was elected. Bill Clinton left them a $5.6 trillion surplus. They squandered it. It is gone. And the President has suggested he is not planning to pay it back, the first President in the history of the country that said he would not pay back the Social Security trust fund, and now these boys want to end the whole thing.

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