E 1194 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks June 8, 1995

speaker of the United States House of Representatives with a request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record, and to all members of the

Texas delegation to the United States Congress, as an official request to the federal

government by the 74th Legislature of the

State of Texas: And, be it further

Resolved, That if and when such replicas

are received from the National Archives and

Records Administration, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission be hereby directed to place them in the holdings of the

state archives to be available for public

viewing and photocopying and in all other

respects to be treated as any other material

worthy of archival storage and retrieval.

FOR WORK WITH KENMORE HOTEL

THIRTEENTH PRECINCT HONORED

f

HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today

to pay tribute to New York’s 13th Police Precinct and its valiant efforts on behalf of the

Kenmore Hotel, its tenants and the surrounding community.

The Kenmore is the largest single room occupancy hotel in New York City. On June 8,

1994, it was seized by the Federal Marshalls

and police officers, thereby becoming the largest building ever seized under the Federal

Forfeiture Act. During the 9 years prior to its

seizure, the Kenmore had steadily fallen into

disrepair and become a haven for crime and

drugs. The sad fact was that a once great

landmark of New York, a place where Nathaniel West and Dashiell Hammett once lived and

wrote, had become a crime-ridden residence.

Drug dealing, prostitution, robberies, burglaries, and serious assaults are common in

the building. The problems of the Kenmore became a source of concern not only to its residents, but to the surrounding community.

Due to the efforts of the personnel of the

13th Precinct and, in particular, one community policing officer, Scott Kimmins, major efforts were taken to inform and involve other

local and Federal agencies regarding these

developments. Officer Kimmins, whose beat

included the Kenmore, walked the halls of its

23 floors daily for several years. On July 11,

1994, I was joined in front of the Hotel by Attorney General Janet Reno, New York Governor Mario Cuomo and others to personally

honor Officer Kimmins and his colleagues at

the 13th Precinct for their courageous efforts

in cleaning up the Kenmore. Nearly a year

after that auspicious day, the 13th Precinct

continues to maintain a presence at the Kenmore, ensuring greater safety for its residents

and neighbors.

Thanks to Federal intervention and under

the auspices of the Federal marshals, the

Kenmore is now under new management.

Though still far from perfect, conditions are improving. Indeed, I am hopeful that the U.S. Attorney’s office will be successful in stripping

the current owner of his ownership and reversing this sad chapter in the Kenmore’s history.

It is because of the extraordinary efforts of

Captain Michael Darby, Officer Scott Kimmins,

and others at the 13th Precinct that the conditions at the Kenmore have improved so dramatically. Indeed, I am pleased to report that

all incidents of drug and non-drug-related

crimes, including assaults, have dropped substantially since the seizure.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me

in saluting the 13th Precinct and its officers for

their courageous effort to improve conditions

at the Kenmore and to make New York City a

safer, better place in which to live.

SOCIAL SECURITY

fHON. LEE H. HAMILTON OF INDIANA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to

insert my Washington Report for Wednesday,

May 24, 1995, into the CONGRESSIONAL

RECORD.

SOCIAL SECURITY: QUESTION AND ANSWERS

When I meet with Hoosiers I often hear

from those concerned with Social Security

insurance and benefits. Older persons seek

assurance for secure payments at adequate

levels. Younger persons question how program changes could affect their plans for retirement. Questions also arise concerning

the solvency of the program and the nature

of proposed reforms.

What are the various parts of the Social

Security program and how is the program

run?

Social Security, also known as the Old

Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance

(OASDI), is the nation’s largest retirement

and disability program. It pays benefits

when a person retires, becomes disabled, or

dies, if eligibility requirements are met.

Family members may also be eligible for

benefits. It is financed through taxes on

wages and self employment income. More

than 95% of the work force is required to pay

these taxes on the first $61,200 of income.

Benefits are dispersed through a trust fund

dedicated exclusively to the payment of Social Security benefits. The Social Security

Administration, which manages the program, is an independent agency accountable

to Congress. The administrative costs of the

program are less than 1% of benefit payments.

How is the money in the Social Security

trust fund managed?

In the past, Social Security has worked on

a pay-as-you-go basis: workers’ payroll taxes

went out almost immediately as benefits to

retirees. However, as of 1983, baby boomers

are paying for benefits of current retirees

while also contributing funds to finance

their own future benefits. The trust fund’s

$400 billion surplus is invested in U.S. government bonds, the only investment allowed

by law. The federal government has never defaulted on its payments to the trust fund.

Is the Social Security trust fund included

in the federal budget?

The answer to this question is both yes and

no. In 1990 Congress took action to exclude

the trust fund from budget calculations.

However, this has not prevented economists

and others from including the trust fund in

their budget calculations as a way to obtain

a more accurate portrayal of the federal

budget and its impact on the economy.

Which seniors are affected by recent

changes in the Social Security program?

The 1993 budget deficit reduction package

increased the portion of taxable benefits for

wealthier beneficiaries from 50% to 85%.

This higher tax applied only to the top 13%

of Social Security recipients—couples with a

retirement income of $44,000 and individuals

with income over $34,000.

The House recently passed a bill amending

the Social Security earnings limit and income tax level. The bill includes provisions

that would raise the Social Security earnings limit over five years to $30,000 and reduce the level of income tax on Social Security benefits for higher-income recipients.

The Senate has taken no action on this bill.

Will Social Security be used to balance the

budget?

The inclusion of the Social Security program in a balanced budget amendment has

greatly concerned seniors. The House considered several versions of a balanced budget

amendment this year. I voted for measures

to exempt Social Security from a balanced

budget amendment. The version that passed

the House does not exclude Social Security.

The Senate did not pass a balanced budget

amendment.

The budget resolution drafted by the House

Leadership proposes a 0.6% reduction in the

Consumer Price Index (CPI) as a means of

slowing the Social Security program’s

growth. Social Security COLAs are based on

the CPI. Therefore, an adjusted CPI would

reduce the COLA starting in 1999.

Is the Social Security program stable for

the years ahead?

The program is projected to be solvent

only for the next 35 years. After that point,

the amount of benefits being paid will exceed

receipts. As the baby boom generation ages,

the reserves are projected to be drawn down

by the year 2030.

What can be done to ensure that our children and grandchildren will receive benefits?

A number of proposals to ensure the solvency of Social Security has been mentioned, such as reducing benefits for future

recipients, raising the payroll tax, increasing

the retirement age, or instituting a means

test denying full benefits to those with large

incomes from other sources. Various proposals have been made to privatize the system,

such as requiring workers to place part of

their Social Security contribution into a

system of mandatory IRAs. Some Members

of Congress have proposed major changes in

the program, such as allowing trust fund

monies to be invested outside of the U.S.

Treasury. No one solution is likely to cure

all the problems, and a good argument can

be made for doing several things at once.

The Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform studied the stability

of Social Security but was unable to reach a

consensus on solutions to the problem. The

President has created the Advisory Council

on Social Security to examine Social Security financing and other program issues.

How confident can we be about the future

of Social Security?

Social Security is important to the 42 million people who count on the benefits for

their income, as well as those planning their

future retirement. If future generations are

to receive benefits, we must recognize that

some difficult decisions must be made to prevent Social Security insolvency. The future

of Social Security is a test of democratic

government. A clearly foreseeable disaster

lays ahead, but it is not imminent. The question is whether an agreement can be reached

on some reasonable reforms so that older

persons can live in some security without

hurting younger people. I do not want to see

the benefits of current Social Security recipients reduced. The federal government

has made a commitment to current and future recipients, and I will work to ensure

that commitment remains strong.