Date: 1981-07-14
Speaker: ROBERT C. BYRD (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. I rise In support of the resolution before the Senate today. which reaffirms our longstanding policy that social security benefits should not be taxed by the Federal Government In recent weeks. we have heard a great deal of talk about reducing the size of social security benefits to help reduce the cost of the retirement system. Taxing benefits would certainl:r be one means reducing benefit levels. And. a decision tax current benefits would constitute precipitious and unfair benefit cut for denly Americans who have planned for ieir retirement with the full expectaon of taxfree benefits. The resolution before the Senate today ates that the 97th Congress will not dopt any social security financing plan hich would immediately subject social .curity benefits to Federal taxation. The purpose of the resolution is simply reassure the elderly community. It eems clear that the circumstances and vents. of recent months call for the Conress to reassure our Nations social secuity retirees. and workers. The Integrity of the social security sysem. depends upon the essential qualities f trust. confidence. and predictability. .hs year. there have already been too sany surprises--shocks. In many intances.-regarding proposed social secuity benefit cuts for Americans approachng retirement age. and for Americans vho are already retired. These shocks iave greatly disturbed the Nations Iderly and the Nations workers. They iave worked to undermine the Integrity )f the social security system. The administration would like everyme to believe that it has not supported ~uts In social security benefits for curent beneficiaries. but that has not been the case. The administration called for a. variety of such cuts. through the budget process. Its budget proposals dlrastically reduce disability coverage. Its budget proposals reduce and then eliminate benefits for dependents and survivors. between the ages of 18 to 21. who are attending school fulltime. Its budget proposals permanently eliminate the minimum. benefit payment for both current and future retirees. More than 500.000 Americans. age 80 or older. have been receiving the minimum payment for 15 years or longer. The administration would tell these elderly Americans. many of them widows. that they are no longer entitled to the benefits promised to them by the social security systcm wbh .i they made their ret4rement plans and that. if they nced assistance. they should aoply for welfare. Many of us fought to preserve the minimum benefit payment for retired Americans. Senator RIErILE twice offered amendments to preserve the payment for those already retired. both attempts resulted In rollcall votes. but were unsuccessful. Reducing and eliminating social security benefits for retired Americansthrough the budget process. not even a separate piece *of legislationsends a chilling message to Americans who believe in the social security system. In May. when the administration called for major and Immediate cuts in social security retirement benefits. the Senate unanimously went on record to reject the plan. At that time. I had many concerns. I was afraid that the Presidents advisers were misinterpreting his personal potnularity as a license to unravel the social security system. I was afraid that the plan. accompanied by dire administration predictions of the social security systems Imminent colJMY 1.4. 1981 lapse. was causing unnecessary fear and extreme distress among Americansboth young and old. The depth of benefit cuts in that plan went beyond what might be necessary to insure adequate future financing of retirement benefits. The plan sent rapid shock waves through the elderly community because it was completely unexpected. In accepting the Republican nomination for the Presidency. Mr. Reagan quoted Franklin D. Roosevelt. telling the American people. "It Is essential that the integrity of all aspects of social security be preserved." Mr. Reagan continued to strongly support social security throughout his campaign and just 2 months before he was elected he said: This strategy for (economic) growth does not require altering or taking back necessary entitlements already granted to the American people. The integrity of the Social Security system will be defended by my administration. The only benefit changes that I remember President Reagan discussing in his campaign for the Presidency were ones which would raise the cost of the system. because at that time. he supported raising the benefit levels for women. When the President came before Congress to argue the merits of his budget plan. he said that no budget savings would be made by cutting social security retirement benefits. He said that those benefits would be preserved as part of the Nations "safety net." It is time for realism on social security. it Is time for calm deliberation and no more surprises. The Congress should provide reassurance to our Nations retirees and workers. The administration must also contribute to a restoration of confldence. and its officials must not prey upon our most vulnerable fears. When OMB Director Stockman defended the administrations social security "reform" plan. he testified before a congressional committee: The question before the Congress is whether the 86 million Americans who currently depend on the Social Security system can count on any check at all less than two years hence. . .. The most devastating bankruptcy in history will occur on or about Nov. 3. 1982. Mr. Stockman said this to defend $88 billion in social security cuts over the next 5 years which would grow into a 23percent cut in total social security benefit protection. The $88 billion in cuts would have destroyed the essential qualities of trust. confidence. and depends-. bility in the system. The plan would have destroyed the systems Integrity because the plan was cruel and inhumane. According to the administrations own economic forecasts. more than $80 billion of the "savings" in social security. proposed over the next 5 years. would not be needed to pay for benefits during this time. In the Senate resolution disapproving the administrations social security plan. the Senate made it clear that we will oppose social security cuts designed to balance the Federal budget. rather than to restore financial solvency to the trusi funds. Let us now have some realism from the administration. Exagerrated statements do not contribute to debate. they distort it. I support the social security resolution before the Senate today. It is a sensible statement of the sense of the Senate regarding Federal taxation of soolal security benefits. It is a positive declaration intended to reassure our Nations elderly citizens. I am proud to be a cosponsor of the resolution. and I commend Senator HEINZ. chairman. and Senator CHILEs. ranking minority member. of the Special Committee on Aging. for their bipartisan cooperation on the resolution.