I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5252
To protect the Social Security trust funds by ensuring that the Government
repays its debts to the trust funds.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 26, 2002
Mr. WAXMAN (for himself, Mr. MATSUI, and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means,
and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To protect the Social Security trust funds by ensuring that
the Government repays its debts to the trust funds.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Security Preser-
vation Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) the Federal budget has moved from surplus
to deficit, causing social security trust funds fi-
nanced by payroll taxes to be used to fund the def-
icit;
(2) as a result of the return to deficit, the
Treasury may have to borrow nearly $2 trillion from
the social security trust funds to use for other Gov-
ernment expenditures over the next 10 years;
(3) statements by the Secretary of the Treasury
that the trust funds have ‘‘no assets’’ and the social
security program is a ‘‘pyramid game’’ and by con-
gressional leaders that the trust funds are ‘‘empty’’,
a ‘‘total fraud’’, and consist of ‘‘worthless IOUs’’
cast doubt on whether social security beneficiaries
can rely upon the Treasury to pay its debts to the
social security trust funds; and
(4) the Treasury’s failure to pay its debts to
the social security trust funds would result in cuts
in social security benefits payments to American
families as early as 2017.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are:
(1) to repudiate statements made by Govern-
ment leaders that the social security program has
‘‘no assets’’;
(2) to require an annual Congressional vote af-
firming the Government’s commitment to honoring
its debts to the social security trust funds;
(3) to require the President to explain how the
Treasury will repay loans from the social security
trust funds and how legislation signed by the Presi-
dent affects repayment;
(4) to require an annual affirmation by the Sec-
retary of the Treasury of the Government’s commit-
ment to honoring its debts to the social security
trust funds; and
(5) to provide Americans who have paid social
security taxes with the right to bring an action in
court to force the Secretary of the Treasury to
honor the Government’s debts to the social security
trust funds.
SEC. 3. REPUDIATION.
To dispel any public confusion, the Congress hereby
repudiates—
(1) the statements of the Secretary of the
Treasury, Paul O’Neill, that the social security pro-
gram is a ‘‘pyramid game’’ and that the social secu-
rity trust funds have ‘‘no assets’’; and
(2) the statements of congressional leaders that
the social security trust funds are ‘‘empty’’, a ‘‘total
fraud’’, ‘‘a mere accounting device’’, and consist of
‘‘worthless IOUs’’.
SEC. 4. ANNUAL CONGRESSIONAL AFFIRMATION.
No amounts borrowed from the social security trust
funds may be used by the Treasury to pay for other Gov-
ernment expenditures in a fiscal year, unless, during the
9-month period immediately preceding the start of that
fiscal year, the Congress has enacted legislation explicitly
affirming that the Treasury will repay these funds.
SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT BY THE PRESIDENT.
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the amendment made
by subsection (b) is to require the President to report an-
nually to Congress on plans for repaying the funds the
Treasury has borrowed from the social security trust
funds.
(b) AMENDMENT.—Section 1105(a) of title 31,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(35) the total amount the Treasury has bor-
rowed from the social security trust funds, an expla-
nation of the plans for repaying the amount bor-
rowed from the social security trust funds, and an
explanation of the impact any legislation the Presi-
dent signed into law in the preceding year will have
on the plans for repaying the social security trust
funds.’’.
SEC. 6. COMMITMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF THE TREAS-
URY TO HONOR THE GOVERNMENT’S DEBT
TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUNDS.
Whenever the Board of Trustees of the social security
trust funds submits its annual report to Congress pursu-
ant to section 201(c) of the Social Security Act on the
status of such trust funds during the preceding fiscal year
and the expected operation and status during the ensuing
5 fiscal years, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit
a statement to Congress containing an affirmation that
the Treasury will honor the securities in such trust funds.
SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT THAT THE GOVERNMENT REPAY
THE SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUNDS.
Section 201(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
401(d)) is amended by inserting after the sixth sentence
the following new sentence: ‘‘Any individual who is cred-
ited with wages or self-employment income under this title
may bring an action in an appropriate Federal district
court to enjoin any act or practice by the Secretary of
the Treasury by which the Secretary contests an obligation
issued for purchase by either Trust Fund under this sub-
section or which constitutes a failure to provide for re-
demption of the obligation in accordance with the terms
of such obligation or to otherwise honor the full faith and
credit of the United States supporting such obligation.’’.
SEC. 8. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act—
(1) SOCIAL
SECURITY
TRUST
FUNDS.—The
term ‘‘social security trust funds’’ refers to the Fed-
eral Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund
and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund.
(2) OTHER
GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES.—
The term ‘‘other Government expenditures’’ means
all Government expenditures other than expenditures
for the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance
program under title II of the Social Security Act.
Such term does not include amounts expended to
pay down the Government debt.
(b) INTERPRETATION.—For purposes of this Act,
amounts borrowed from the social security trust funds
shall be considered to be used for other Government ex-
penditures if there is a deficit in the non-Social Security
budget.
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