Date: 1982-05-06
Speaker: ROBERT C. BYRD (democrat)
Chamber: S

I thank the Senator. Mr. President. this Is no filibuster. I think that the attention of the country ought to be called to the fact that the action by the Budget Committee was an action which. at the expense of the older people of the country. would preserve the KempRoth tax scheme. The distinguished Senator from Texas refers to the amendment as a ploy. Of course. many things have been going on recently. and even prior thereto. which could be designated by one side or the other as being political. But certainly the amendment has been offered In accordance with the rules. and in good faith. so I have no apology for having offered the amendment. Last night. the Senate Budget Committee gave its approval to a budget plan which would mortgage the future of this Nations social security beneficiaries in order to finance the continuation of a broad and radical experiment called KempRoth. That plan. endorsed by the President. calls for $40 billion in unspecified and arbitrary changes in our Nations social security system. It is a plan which suffers from the same defects that characterized the Presidents previous budget proposala program which is fundamentally unfair. It does not specify what will be done In respect to the social security system. It simply calls for $40 billion In unspecified and arbitrary changes. I would take that to mean cuts. . Last nights actions by the Republicancontrolled Senate Budget Committee demonstrate once again the KempRoth tax cut leaves no program safe. no tax unthinkable. and no promise to the American people secure. I am not prepared to support $40 billion in unspecified and arbitrary social security cuts. Just a year ago on May 20. 1981. the Senate overwhelmingly rejected the Presidents May 12 plan to make deep and precipitous cuts In social security benefits by a vote of 96 to 0. We said then. and we say again today. that we will not stand by and allow social security to be raided In order to reduce the deficits under the Presidents budget. Last year the President promised the American people safety nets In social programs. to be exempt from any Federal budgetcutting scheme. These programs included social security retirement benefits. medicare. and veterans pensions. Today we find that failure to employ realistic economic and budgetary assumptions at the beginning of Reaganomics has turned the idea of a social safety net. particularly for this Nations elderly citizens. on its head. and holes are ripping through the safety net. I am not prepared to see $40 billion in social security benefit cuts over the next 3 fiscal years to finance major tax reductions for this Nations wealthiest citizens. I am not prepared to see cuts In social security benefits designed purely to reduce the Federal budget deficit. I am not prepared to see the people of West Virginia who have to depend upon social security suffer cuts in their benefits designed to reduce the Federal budget deficit. I am not prepared to see the people of West Virginia who have to depend on social security benefits suffer those benefits cut In order to preserve the folly of the KempRoth scheme. I only wish that my friends on the other side were not prepared to continue theorizing with the economy. The theorizing is now coming home to rest in a dangerous fashion. in the real lives of people. We now appear ready to accept any cut in the social security program by virtue of the action taken by the Budget Committee. But most of us on thisoside of the aisle do not intend to support that. Only last May. the Senate overwhelmingly rejected the Presidents plan of $88 billion in social security benefit cuts over the next 5 years. Also last year. the Senate rejected the administrations plan to reduce by 40 percent the retirement benefits of those individuals who elect to retire at age 62 instead of age 65. That request was for an immediate cut of tremendous dimension. We felt it was unfair. it was precipitous. and cruel. It went against the Presidents promise that social security would be Included in the safety net. So we in the Senate sent a message that was loud and clear to the administration that srch a cut would not be supported by the U.S. Senate. The request were eventually withdrawn. Last year. five times we on this side of the aisle attempted to preserve social security minimum benefits for retired Americans. The administrations budget would have eliminated the social security retirement benefit this past March. The administration was able to get that package of budget cuts enacted. becasue it had a clear majority in the Senate and a working majority in the House. It was able to get that legislation enacted. Five times we on this side of the aisle attempted to preserve that minimum social security payment. Five times we were defeated by a partyline vote until the heat of the kitchen became so intense and the protests from the country so loud. that the President last September went on television asking the Congress to restore the minimum payment. which he himself had requested cut and fought for. When he did that. our friends on the other side of the aisle joined with us in restoring the minimum social security benefits for retired Americans. Now we see the Republican Committee on the Budget proposing $40 billion in cuts in the social security program. They do not label them as cuts in the budget. I think. however. that it is very clear that Is what it means. even after all the promises that have been made by this administration that social security would be secure. The President appointed a task force last December and Indicated last September when he was on television that he would appoint a task force that would report back by the end of this year. after the election. its recommendation to deal with the social security program. The President appointed five persons to serve on that task force. the Speaker appointed five persons to serve on that task force. and the distinguished majority leader In the Senate was allowed to appoint five persons. He. in turn. allowed me to pick two of them I selected the distinguished Senator from New York the ranking member on the Social Security Subcommittee. and Mr. Lane Kirkland. head of the AFLCIO. That task force is to report back after the election. It seems to me that any action dealing with social security prior to the report of the task force would certainly be precipitous and premature. The pending amendment is an effort to call to the attention the American people and to the elderly community of this Nation that those elderly people are not. indeed. protected by the safety net. as promised by the President.