Publicly, the White House was focused on bolstering support for its plan to tap future budget surpluses to shore up Social Security. Clinton and the Democrats have traditionally used the issue as a political battering ram against Republicans, but this year the GOP has fought back by promising to fund the budget without touching Social Security payroll taxes. Congressional Democrats have been nervous about that pledge possibly gaining political traction, and in his radio address Clinton argued that the GOP plan would do nothing to reform the Social Security system or extend its solvency beyond 2034. Clinton said he would submit to Congress a portion of the Social Security rescue plan he outlined early this year. That plan involves a complicated scheme to use federal budget surpluses to pay down the national debt and then earmarking the resulting savings from lower interest payments to shore up Social Security.
Republicans prefer a greater reliance on individual investments.
Clinton's original proposal would have allowed the government to invest some Social Security taxes in the stock market, but that idea was dropped from the plan he said he would submit to Congress. We will not let him raid the Social Security trust fund. Administration officials noted that Clinton made it clear to congressional leaders last week that he wanted them to consider his Social Security plan during final deliberations over the budget. They said Clinton is seriously considering vetoing the defense bill to maximize his leverage, even though a vote to override a veto could be close. Democrats need 146 votes to sustain a veto.