April 26, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5733

peace. All to often, they risk their lives

in the line of duty. Having risen to the

very top of his profession, Chief Landry

can take a great measure of pride in

his accomplishments and the admiration in which his colleagues and his

constituents in Nashua and throughout

New Hampshire hold him.

So, Mr. President, I salute Chief Raymond Landry. I will be with him and

his friends in spirit as they celebrate

his magnificent career on May 5. May

God bless him and grant him a long,

happy, and healthy retirement.

f ∑

SOCIAL SECURITY—FAMILY

SECURITY

∑ Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise

today to discuss the real contract with

America. This contract was not written last summer, and it was not designed to last 100 days. It was written

60 years ago and was designed to last

indefinitely. Mr. President, I am referring to Social Security, our primary

contract with the American family.

There has been a lot of talk recently

about Social Security, much of it negative. There are many misconceptions

about what Social Security stands for,

what it does, and how it works. Today,

I want to set the record straight.

Social Security is a sacred compact

between the U.S. Government and the

American people. It is a system that

gives help to people who practice selfhelp. Since it was created by President

Roosevelt during the New Deal, it has

provided financial security, and most

importantly, family security for millions of Americans. There are so many

problems in our Nation today that are

robbing our families of their security.

Crime, violence, drugs and divorce are

some of the biggest fears that American families face. I do not want to add

Social Security to that list of fears.

Social Security is family security. If

any of my colleagues doubt that, consider this fact: Twenty-four million

Americans rely on Social Security to

provide more than half their income.

Almost 51⁄2 million Americans rely on

Social Security as their only source of

income. To all those millions of Americans, Social Security means the ability

to put food on the table, to support

their families, and to live independently.

Let me address some other misconceptions about Social Security. It is

not the cause of our budget deficit. It

has never added one penny to our deficit or our national debt. It is an independent, self-financed, and dedicated

fund. Social Security is not welfare either. Today’s retirees paid into the system and have earned a secure retirement, not a handout.

I will not rob American families of

their secure retirement. I will not vote

to cut benefits and I will not support

legislation that threatens the Social

Security trust fund. Throughout my

career, I have voted to defend Social

Security. I have defended cost of living

adjustments, which protect against the

erosion of benefits by inflation. I have

opposed a reduction in the Social Security tax, which would jeopardize the

trust fund. I supported making Social

Security an independent agency, which

will ensure that it is run efficiently

and smoothly. Finally, I voted to exempt Social Security from the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

If we do not exempt Social Security

from a balanced budget amendment,

the trust fund will be in jeopardy.

Right now there is a surplus in the

trust fund. In other words, there is

more money being paid into the system

by working people than there is being

paid out to retirees. By law, this surplus can only be used to pay benefits,

the administrative costs of Social Security, and to buy Government securities. These Government securities become part of the trust fund and earn

interest, just like Government bonds

that we might purchase as an investment. I strongly believe that without

it being exempted, this surplus will be

raided by politicians in the name of

deficit reduction. This would result in

emptying the trust fund of the current

Government securities, which must be

paid back to Social Security. Make no

mistake, this means cuts. It means

going back on promises we made. It

means saying no to people who have

spent a lifetime playing by the rules

and contributing to the success of this

country. It means that the Government cannot hold up its end of the primary contract with American families.

And it means robbing families of their

security.

My colleagues on the other side of

the aisle said, ‘‘Don’t worry. We won’t

touch Social Security. We want to protect it just like you do.’’ Yet they were

not willing to write a protection into

the constitutional amendment. I know

I will not vote to raid the trust fund,

and it may be true that my friends on

the other side of the aisle won’t either.

But I cannot speak for members of a

future Congress, and I don’t believe

they can either. This is the danger that

we faced during the balanced budget

amendment debate. I am happy to say

that it is a danger that we have temporarily avoided.

I am a middle-class Senator. I have

spent my career helping those who are

not in the middle class get there, and

making sure that those who are in the

middle class have the security to stay

there. Social Security is the linchpin

that holds the majority of our retired

citizens in the middle class. Promises

made must be promises kept. I will

continue to fight for the promise of

family security that America’s retirees

have earned.

TRIBUTE TO CENTRAL FALLS (RI)

JR./SR. HIGH SCHOOL

∑

f∑ Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I would

like to recognize the achievements of

25 students from Central Falls Jr./Sr.

High School of Central Falls, RI.

These students, Kelly Bianchi,

Janeth Blandon, Melissa Casto, Berta

Couto, Yolanda DaSilva, Daisy Diaz,

Elizabeth Diaz, Michelle Doucet, Susan

Freitas, Elizabeth Garstka, Martha

Gutierrez, Melanie Kowal, Linda

Layous, Rebecca Lussier, Michael

Macedo, Juan Manzano, Nelci Paiva,

Beatriz Patino, Christine Patricio,

Celena Sackal, Kathleen Siwy, Hannah

Tarawali, Helena Taveira, Agnes Wec,

and Alexandra Zaldana have distinguished Central Falls and the State of

Rhode Island through their selection as

Rhode Island’s delegation to the ‘‘We

the People . . . The Citizens and the

Constitution’’ national finals competition.

I would also like to recognize their

teacher, Mr. Bertrand Brousseau, who

deserves much of the credit for the success of the team. The district coordinators, John Waycott and Charles Golden, and State coordinator Henry Cote

also contributed a great deal of time

and effort to help the team reach the

national finals.

This program, supported and funded

by Congress, has been developed to educate young people about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The 3-day

national competition simulates a congressional hearing in which students’

oral presentations are judged on the

basis of their knowledge of constitutional principles and their ability to

apply them to historical and contemporary issues.

Administered by the Center for Civic

Education, ‘‘We the People . . . The

Citizens and the Constitution,’’ has

provided curricular materials at upper

elementary, middle, and high school

levels for more than 60,000 teachers,

22,000 schools, and 20 million nationwide.

This tremendous program provides

an excellent opportunity for students

to gain a perspective about the history

and principles of our Nation’s constitutional Government. I wish these budding constitutional experts the best of

luck and look forward to their future

participation in our Nation’s political

arena.∑

Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN addressed the

Chair.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.

Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, I would like to proceed as if in

morning business, but I would like a

period longer than 5 minutes.

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, would the

Senator allow us to do this and then we

will give her what time she might desire, then we will close out. I do not

think we will be over 5 or 6 minutes.

Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Thank you.

Mr. FORD. I thank the Senator.