WASHINGTON–Former Sens. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and Warren Rudman (R-N.H.),
the co-chairs of the Concord Coalition, sent a letter today to Rep. Bob
Livingston (R-La.) commending him for pledging that Congress will "no
longer use Social Security proceeds to mask the budget deficit" once he
becomes Speaker of the House. The letter cautions, however, that taking
Social Security off-budget is harder to accomplish than most people
might realize.
WASHINGTON–Former Sens. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and Warren Rudman (R-N.H.),
the co-chairs of the Concord Coalition, sent a letter today to Rep. Bob
Livingston (R-La.) commending him for pledging that Congress will "no
longer use Social Security proceeds to mask the budget deficit" once he
becomes Speaker of the House. The letter cautions, however, that taking
Social Security off-budget is harder to accomplish than most people
might realize.
Nunn and Rudman note that the Social Security program is
already legally and officially off-budget. Unfortunately, all previous
legislative attempts to isolate the program have not worked.
"Politicians from both parties, White House and Congress alike, still
talk, act, and legislate as if laws removing Social Security from the
federal budget had never been enacted."
Trying to protect Social Security surpluses by moving them to
special accounts at the Treasury Department or elsewhere would be a
sham, according to Nunn and Rudman. Such accounts would fail to stop
the government from double counting and spending the money.
Nunn and Rudman offer two suggestions to Livingston in the
letter. They urge Livingston, as Speaker, to change the language of the
debate by influencing the Budget Committee, leadership, and
rank-and-file members to talk about the $29 billion deficit that
results when Social Security is not counted in all press releases and
public statements. "Changing the rhetoric will change the way we think
about fiscal policy, and that in turn will help to change policy
decisions."
Nunn and Rudman also urge Congress to tackle the long-term
Social Security program early in 1999, before any more of the program’s
annual surplus is squandered. "The time is right for reform. The
economy is strong. The issue has been debated in forums across the
nation. And baby boomers, starting in the 106th Congress, will be in
the majority for the first time. Boomers understand, perhaps better
than others, that their retirement will strain the Social Security
program and their kids’ capacity to finance it. As Speaker, we hope you
will lead the first boomer Congress in history to solve this problem
before it gets worse-and before they begin to retire."
MEDIA ADVISORY: A copy of the complete letter to Rep. Livingston is available by following this link.
