Date: 1981-12-15
Speaker: ROBERT C. BYRD (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. Presidenit 2 weeks ago. President Reagan Addressed the White House Conference on Aging. In that speech. the President made some amazing statements about the record of his administration on social security. The President began: Maybe you can understand my frustration ..to be portrayed as. somehow an enemy of my own generation. Most of the attack has been centered around one Issue. social security. Less than 4 months into his term. last May. the Presidentasked Congress to cut social security benefits by more than $88 billion over the next 5 years. The administration asked Congress to Immediately slash retirement benefits for Americans having to retire belore the age of 65 by 40 percent. Eight days after the administration formally proposed Its $88 billion benefit cut plan. the Republicancontrolled Senate rejected It. by a unanimous vote of 08 to zero. Yet. late into the summer. the administration continued to assume these deep benefit cut.3 in its budget. At the Conference on Aging. the President said: Theres been political demagoguery and outright falsehood. and as a result. many who rely on social security for their livelihood have been needlessly and cruelly frightened. Again. the President is right. In announcing the administrations plan of $88 billion In social security benefit cuts. It was Health and Human Services Secretary Schweiker who said: .The crisis is inescapabie. It is here. it is now. It Is serious..In defending the administrations May plan. It was 0MB Director Stockman who testified before the House Ways and Means Committee: The question before Congress Is whether the 38 million Americans who currently depend on the Social Security system can count on any check at all In less than two years hence.... The most devastating bankruptcy In history will occur on or about Nov. 3. Yet. by the administrations own estimates. the May social security plan called for deeper benefit cuts and greater savings than might be needed to insure the financial solvency of the system. In Its plan. the administration appeared to be using the revenues of the social security system to balance the Federal budget. Many of us read the December Issue of the Atlantic Monthly. This time. David Stockman said: The Social Security problem Is not simply one of satisfying actuaries . . . Its one of satisfying the hereandnow of budget requirements. At the Confere nce on Aging. the President said: InOctober of 1980. I pledged that I would try to restore the Integrity of social security and to do so without penalty to those dependent on that program. I have kept my pledge and Intend to keep It. Today. we are taking a major step toward helping the President begin to keep that campaign pledge--as many of us have attempted to do throughout this session. The President asked Congress to cut the social security minimum benefit payment for retired Americans as part of his Federal budgetcutting plan. He asked for it and OMB Director Stockman fought for It. The. integrity of social sbcurityand the overwhelming success of the systemis dependent upon the trust. confidence and predictability that promised benefits will be paid. Yet. as part of Its Federal budgetcutting bill. in which the Congress was to cut waste. fraud and abuse. the administration asked Congress to take away a basic social security retirement benefit from some 3 million retired Americans. The minimum benefit was designed to be a safety net under social security. to insure an adequate retirement pension for Americas lowestincome workers. Over half the minimum benefit recipients Pre over the age of 70. 75 percent are elderly women. Over half a million Americans over the age of 80 have been receiving the minimum benefit for at least. 15 years. Democrats in the Senate attempted to prevent the minimum benefit from being eliminated by the administrations budgetcutting bill. 0MB Director Stockman fought forcefully and consistently for complete acrosstheboard repeal. In anofficial statement. 0 MB -described the pension payment as a "pure windfall for recipients." saying that financially needy retirees had a safety net of public welfare assistance to fall back on after their hardearned retirement Income was slashed.On at least five votes In the Senate this year. Democrats fought to prevent elimination of the minimum benefit. Five times. we were defeated by Members from the other party. marching In lockstep to David Stockmans marching orders. Senate Democrats would have welcomed Republican votes In the fight to preserve the benefit. but partisan politics. directed from the OMB. resulted in partisan votes time and time again. on this. as well as other matters. Two months af ter the House voted 404 to 20 to restore the minimum benefit cuthardly what one could characterize as a Partisan voteand on this same night that Senate Democrats had been defeated. by only two votes. In their fif th attempt to preserve the benefit. the White House changed Its mind and asked that the benefit be restored. This change In thinking came only after it became clear that Democrats would not give up on this questionthat the Issue would not go awayand after It was clear that Congress would eventually act to restore the Payment. Such action was inevitable. In times of a Partisan Senate. where straight party line votes seem to be the order of the day. this bill represents a victory where victories. for Democrats. appear -to be scarce. And It is a victory to cherish because It Is one springing from legitimate and strongly held policy disagreements regarding the future of social security. It Is a victory of the senior citizens of the country and I congratulate the Senate on what will soon be a vote to restore that minimum benefit payment. -Mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that a part of the special report of the Democratic Policy Committee listing the votes this year on the minimum benefit be printed In the RECORID.