Washington D.C.-U.S. Senate passed a bill today that protects Social Security while responsibly funding education and health programs at levels above the last fiscal year, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi.
The Senate passed 49-48 the Senate-House Conference report which allocates funding for the Departments of Labor, Health and the District of Columbia. It also contained a measure that reduces all discretionary spending for fiscal year 2000 by about 1 percent in order to ensure a balanced budget without dipping into the Social Security fund. The reduction is mostly a cut in the increased spending from the last fiscal year. Outlays in the overall budget will still increase by about $13 billion from fiscal 1999.
The White House has criticized the 1 percent limit, labeling it a spending cut, but Enzi said this is misleading, noting that before the 1 percent "cut" the National Institute of Health was set to receive a $2.3 billion increase from fiscal 1999. After the 1 percent "cut," the department would still receive more than a $2 billion increase. Education spending is hundreds of millions of dollars more than the president's original request. These are just two examples.
Enzi said the central question the White House and Congress ask every year is 'should we hold down increases in new spending while sensibly funding prior obligations?'
"Unfortunately the answer has continually been to spend more than taxpayers can afford, amassing a huge debt and branding anyone who advocates responsible budgeting as someone who wants to prevent sick children from getting the health care they need," said Enzi. "This kind of false rhetoric is costing our children their future. They are the ones being saddled with this debt.
"It's important to look at the big picture. We're not talking about cutting spending from last year. We are continuing to reign in some of the spending increases so we can protect Social Security and get our financial house in order. Through the years Congress has continually spent much more than it received in revenues, about 20 percent more per year. Now, even though projections over the next 10 years estimate a surplus in the trillions of dollars, we still have a very small percentage of cost overruns this year. What we are debating now is how to eliminate those few cost overruns for the upcoming fiscal year. I favor limiting spending increases on new programs so we meet the caps and are able to fund the existing programs, but in the absence of accomplishing that then an across the board increase limit is necessary to protect Social Security and other existing functions of government."
Enzi and a number of other senators also sent a letter recently to President Clinton asking him to help convince Senate Democrats to support a Social Security "Lockbox" that would seal Social Security funds so they could not be used for other government spending or tax cuts.
"We will not support any type of final Omnibus Appropriation, emergency spending provision, or individual appropriation bill that would result in an on-budget deficit which draws from the Social Security surplus," the senators wrote. "We have entered into a covenant with America's seniors to assure them we will not squander the Social Security Trust Fund, and we will continue to seek passage of the Social Security Lockbox."
Of the 13 appropriations bills to date, eight have been made law. The president vetoed three: the Foreign Operations bill, the appropriations bill for the departments of Commerce, Justice and State and the bill funding the District of Columbia. The Department of Interior bill awaits his signature.
With the Senate's action today the president will have the opportunity to sign the Labor, Health conference report which includes the revised version of the District of Columbia bill he vetoed. The House passed the measure by a 218-211 vote on Oct. 28. The president has threatened a veto, further delaying enactment of the budget measure.
