Jim DeMint

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Chairman, how much time remains?

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Chairman, I offer amendment No. 5.

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 2 minutes. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to ask for Members' consideration of my amendment to promote specialized education and to empower parents with children who have special needs. I would like to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Boehner) and my colleagues on the Committee on Education and the Workforce for their hard work and determination in bringing this bill to the floor. Mr. Chairman, I have concerns with special education today. Instead of meeting the needs of the children who are truly disabled, special education is becoming a label for every child that learns differently or has not been taught basic skills. Nearly one in eight of U.S. schoolchildren is currently considered disabled. As a result, education for truly disabled children is becoming less and less special. My amendment permits States and encourages States to develop new, innovative systems that promote customization of special education. Giving States the flexibility to develop new and innovative approaches to serving the needs of disabled children will help those children receive the customized and truly special education that they deserve. Children with special needs deserve education services that are customized to their unique needs. This legislation will ultimately provide parents with more resources and opportunities for their children with disabilities. I am confident my colleagues will support giving States the option to develop creative solutions to educating special needs children. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the concerns of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, but unfortunately they have apparently read the propaganda from the Teachers' Union rather than reading the legislation itself. This legislation does not establish a voucher program. It establishes no program at all. It simply encourages the States to innovate in a way that will empower parents with more voluntary choices so that they can meet the needs of their kids. It allows States to expand the rights of parents with more choices, to expand the accountability by giving parents more voluntary options. Mr. Chairman, this vote today is a vote to empower parents and to do what IDEA is supposed to do, and that is to provide personalized, customized services for children with special needs.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment and commend the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Barrett) for his insight and initiative on this issue. I support this amendment for three simple reasons. First, America already depends on nuclear energy. Even though it has been 2 decades since we built a new facility, nuclear power provides over 20 percent of the electricity in this country and over 55 percent of the electricity in South Carolina. The second reason is nuclear power saves money. It is less expensive than coal, less expensive than oil, and a third less than natural gas. The third reason is nuclear energy is good for the environment. Because it burns no fuel and emits no pollution, it is good for our environment and good to preserve our quality of life all across the country. Again I thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Barrett) and urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, I was absent during roll calls 92, 93, and 94. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on each of those rollcalls.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, today I submit for introduction a bill to improve education for children with special needs by encouraging innovative approaches to parental involvement and flexibility. This legislation is meant to enhance other reforms being proposed in the IDEA reauthorization bill. Those reforms will improve special education by reducing the paperwork burden for educators, improving early intervention strategies, reducing misidentification of special needs students, and restoring trust between parents and districts by reducing litigation. I believe we must empower parents to be more involved in their child's education. My legislation would help states create customized education systems for children with special needs. Many states would like to offer options for children with special needs. Unfortunately, the current IDEA structure does nothing to promote these alternatives. This new legislation encourages states to research and develop scholarship programs for children with special needs, providing parents the opportunity to choose the education they see as a best fit for their child. The Improving Parental Choice bill would give states greater flexibility in providing for supplemental services. Students with special needs should have the flexibility to access the tutoring services of their choice. My bill would make it permissible for districts to use their federal IDEA reserved funds to provide greater opportunities for participation in outside supplemental education services. Children at a school designated for improvement under No Child Left Behind would have the opportunity to access the support services preferred by their family. This legislation would also allow pre-school age children to continue education with successful and comfortable providers. Children under age three currently receive special needs service from the provider of their choice. This legislation would expand the options of parents and decrease transition problems for the youngest children with disabilities by allowing states to expand programs that currently serve children ages 0-2. It would allow children to continue participation in their preferred program (including private providers) until age five when the child begins school. Children with special needs have different needs. They deserve education services that are customized for their personal needs. This legislation will provide parents with more resources and more opportunities for their children with disabilities.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Chairman, we have heard a lot of success stories today, but what is important is that we build on these successes and that we give even more Americans this dream of moving from dependency to dignity and moving to hope and to freedom. Now we must offer this opportunity to all Americans. Mr. Chairman, I commend the gentleman and all of those who have worked in concert to make this a possibility to bring this bill to the floor and to free Americans from the oppression of unemployment to give them the skills and the abilities they need and the opportunity to move from welfare to dignity and to hope and to freedom.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, Saddam Hussein has repeatedly demonstrated he is a threat to peaceful nations around the world. He has the money to finance his hostile intentions, he has the capabilities to blackmail nations with the use of weapons of mass destruction, and has shown a willingness to use them. Everyday our pilots in the northern and southern no-fly zones of Iraq are the targets of Iraqi fire. Perhaps even more frightening, Saddam Hussein continues to develop and stockpile weapons of mass destruction and actively support international terrorism--both in violation of bona fide international agreements. In fact, in all of his actions, Hussein has demonstrated a persistent refusal to comply with every U.N. Security Council resolution in force regarding his country. U.N. Resolutions called for Saddam to end both his WMD programs and his support for terrorism. Yet, before Hussein kicked them out of Iraq in 1998, weapons inspection teams could testify to the large amount of research, development, and materials associated with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons--despite Iraq's success in concealing the extent of its capabilities. However, Hussein did manage to hide a great deal from these inspectors, and it was not until defectors shared crucial information about hidden stockpiles that Saddam programs were set back, but never completely shut down. Now some people say we should have new inspections and do nothing else, believing this time that inspectors will be able to do what they could not before--identify and dismantle Iraq's WMD capabilities. Sadly, recent history teaches us otherwise. The same can be said about Iraq's involvement with terrorism. Hussein continues to maintain his ties with terrorist organizations. Today his terrorist training camps continue to breed more people intent on harming prosperous, free, and democratic nations around the world--and endangering innocent civilians in the process. Hussein also targets innocent civilians in his own country in violation of U.N. Security Resolutions. For example, the U.N. oil-for- food program allows Iraq to sell enough oil to provide its citizens sufficient food and medicine to sustain a decent standard of living. However, the profits from the oil never make it to the Iraqi people; instead Saddam funnels this money into his weapons programs. He then bolsters his programs with illegal proceeds from smuggled oil. In light of these actions, it is clear that the world has a problem with Saddam and the international community agrees. Yet instead of action, many people want to limit the United States to building broad coalitions and placing international pressure on Saddam. Unfortunately, history--and the past ten years--has shown us that no amount of international pressure can stop a dictator with such disregard for international agreements and no diplomatic coalition can change his contempt for human life. For decades Saddam Hussein has brutally trampled on freedom and muzzled the self-expression of his people. He has threatened his neighbors, supported terrorists, and stockpiled weapons of mass destruction. We cannot remove ourselves from the struggle between freedom and tyranny--good and evil. Saddam Hussein is already engaged in a battle, and he has been firing shots for the past decade. Doing nothing is not an option. With this resolution, Congress acknowledges that something must be done and expresses full support for the President. President Bush's speech on Monday demonstrated that he--like the rest of us--does not want to go to war. And the fact that President Bush waited almost a month before using force in Afghanistan makes obvious his desire to build coalitions and utilize every peaceful opportunity to end international disagreement before resorting to war. However, he also understands the United States carries an incredible burden of leadership in the world. For this reason when he took office, President Bush assembled one of the finest national security teams this nation has ever seen. They have proven their leadership in previous military conflicts and understand the cost of military action. Their role in the war on terrorism has also demonstrated how much they care about U.S. troops and the loss of life for anyone involved--both military and civilian. Now is the time to have faith in the President's proven leadership and allow him and his advisors to implement the strategy that finally ends the threat Saddam poses to the free world.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for some very important remarks. I appreciate the work of the Committee very much. I am sure everything in this bill is important and could be useful. But as all of us know, this country is going through very difficult times; difficult with our economy, difficult with enemies all around the world. There are many priorities. As we go through this appropriations process, it is very important that we look at our priorities and look at the means that we have to accomplish them, and make sure that we make the tough decisions now, rather than later. We know that we need additional money to fight the war, to build our military, to equip our soldiers, and to pay them. That is going to cost more money. We know that our Social Security system, which is a very important promise to our seniors, that must be kept, and we must begin the debate on how we can improve and guarantee that Social Security is always there. But we know with this budget this year that we are already spending money that is coming in for Social Security, and we need to scrutinize every dollar that we spend to make sure that we do not spend the Social Security surplus unnecessarily. Across the country, we see devastation with the problems with health care and the cuts at the Federal level with Medicaid, and we look at our own Medicare system and see that it is going to become increasingly difficult to fund it. Seniors all across the country are being turned away from physicians who no longer take Medicare because we do not pay enough. We have to scrutinize this budget. We cannot continue to spend and to grow the government and make new promises when there are promises that we have made to seniors, as well as the promises we have made to other citizens, such as the children of this country in our education plan, because we have promised more money to education from the Federal level, new promises. In this bill this year we are making new promises that we are going to have to keep out of money that we do not have. I rise in support of this amendment because it looks closely at this Interior bill, looks at the management area, not cutting any programs, but just makes a small cut. If we continue this process throughout appropriations, then maybe we can save the money that we need to keep the promises that we have already made, and not make new promises to folks when we cannot keep the promises and do not have the money to do it. I do support the amendment, and I urge all of my fellow Members to do the same.

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate some of the comments of the previous speaker, because he kind of laid out the character for the debate tonight, or really, the essence of what the debate is all about. I believe one of my colleagues suggested that maybe, instead of giving Americans tax relief, that we withhold that tax relief so that we can spend more here in the Congress, instead of taking the time to have the debate on the floor, look through these 13 spending bills carefully and determine if there are ways that we can save, so that we can keep more money in the pockets of Americans and continue to improve consumer confidence in spending, which has really held up our economy over the last year. We have some tough decisions to make. On our side, while we might be fussing and arguing tonight, our whole point is to try to keep spending at its lowest level. If we look back at this chart that was reviewed a minute ago, we know that we are on a course for some pretty heavy deficits. But I want to give just one example of why these deficits are so detrimental to the future of this country, and why it is so important that we take the time tonight to go through this appropriation bill, and all of the ones that we have this year, to see if there are some things that we can do to reduce the growth of the spending. That is really all we are talking about, because this deficit we see does not take into account doing anything to secure the future for American seniors by improving and strengthening Social Security. We are doing nothing over the next 10 years to guarantee that future Americans have the Social Security that they have been promised. We have to remember, as Members of Congress, that this is not some handout to Americans, this is something they have paid for. It is something they have paid for, with a promise that we have to be prepared to keep. And instead of spending every dime that comes in, we need to establish a mechanism where we can really save at least part of what people put into Social Security. There are several goals that we have to have for Social Security in addition to reducing spending so that we can really save for the future. One is, we need to reassure every American, regardless of age, that they will never receive less from Social Security than they are receiving today. This talk of cutting benefits needs to be thrown out the front door of this House. We need to guarantee the benefits for every American and establish where we are as the floor. In addition, instead of spending every dime that people put into Social Security, as we are doing today, we need to establish a mechanism within Social Security so that individuals can save part of what they are putting into Social Security for their future, so that when they retire they own something and have some control of their lives; and particularly for the poor, that they have something to pass on to the next generation. If we leave Social Security the way it is today, within 15 years, just a few years after this chart ends, we will begin to take money from the general fund just to pay the benefits of seniors, without changing anything on Social Security. Over the next 75 years, Members have heard some figures thrown out tonight, like $1.7 trillion over the next 10 years, but we are talking about, with no changes to Social Security, $25 trillion from the general fund that has to be transferred in addition to what is being paid into Social Security now so that we can continue to pay benefits in the future. We cannot continue to overlook this promise that we have made to Americans and continue to spend on everything, even though these are important things that we are talking about. All of us probably have something in these appropriation bills, but all of us have to be willing to give a little, and to at least slow the spending so that we can keep the promises to the seniors that we have made, and to help them really save and really own and really have independence when they retire.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, on June 11, 2002 I was unavoidably detained and was not present for three rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall votes Nos. 220, 221, and 222.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, whereas, 3M was founded 100 years ago in Two Harbors, Minnesota and serves as the world's leading innovative company; and Whereas, 3M makes and sells thousands of products that improve people's lives; and Whereas, 3M is a company consisting of 75,000 employees world-wide and 219 at the 3M Packaging Systems Division in Greenville, South Carolina; and Whereas, the 3M Packaging Systems Division began operations in Greenville in 1974; and Whereas, 3M makes valuable contributions to our community through jobs, environmental stewardship, charitable contributions and volunteerism; Therefore, be it declared that, this 11th day of June 2002, shall be 3M day.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, Whereas, 3M was founded 100 years ago in Two Harbors, Minnesota and serves as the world's leading innovative company; and Whereas, 3M makes and sells thousands of products that improve people's lives; and Whereas, 3M is a company consisting of 75,000 employees world-wide and 250 at the 3M Specialty Film and Media Products Division in Greenville, South Carolina; and Whereas, the 3M Specialty Film and Media Products Division began operations in Greenville in 1973; and Whereas, 3M makes valuable contributions to our community through jobs, environmental stewardship, charitable contributions and volunteerism; Therefore, be it declared that, this 11th day of June 2002, shall be 3M Day.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great joy to stand here today to celebrate the thousands of moms, dads, and children who have become bigger and stronger families because of adoption. I introduced the Hope for Children Act last year, along with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the Hope Coalition, to ensure enactment of several important adoption provisions. The Hope for Children Act extended and doubled the adoption tax credit to $10,000 for all adoptions. Additionally, the bill extended and doubled the tax exclusion allowed for employer-provided adoption benefits and included a $10,000 flat credit for special-needs adoption, which has been mentioned. The Hope for Children Act was included in the tax package signed into law by President Bush last year; but unfortunately, the Senate included a sunset provision in the new law to comply with the Senate procedural rules. Without this bill today, H.R. 4800, the new adoption law will expire after December 31, 2010, and thousands of adoptive parents will see their taxes raised overnight. Mr. Speaker, that cannot happen; and that is why we must pass the legislation today. One of the greatest titles in the world is that of parent, and one of the biggest blessings in life is to be called mom or dad. We hope this bill will help unite children with parents and build strong, stable families in our country. This bill will guarantee tax relief for future generations of adoptive parents. I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, Whereas, 3M was founded 100 years ago in Two Harbors, Minnesota and serves as the world's leading innovative company; and Whereas, 3M makes and sells thousands of products that improve people's lives; and Whereas, 3M is a company consisting of 75,000 employees world-wide and 250 at the 3M Specialty Materials Division in Greenville, South Carolina; and. Whereas, the 3M Specialty Materials Division began operations in Greenville in 1973; and Whereas, 3M makes valuable contributions to our community through jobs, environmental stewardship, charitable contributions and volunteerism; Therefore, be it declared that, the 28th day of May 2002, shall be 3M DAY.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, on April 30, 2002 I was unavoidably detained and was not present for 3 roll call votes. Had I been present, I would have voted `aye' on roll call vote #117, `nay' on roll call vote #118, and `aye' on roll call vote #119.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, Whereas, the YMCA is dedicated to building strong kids, strong families and strong communities; and Whereas, the YMCA serves people of all ages, incomes and abilities through a wide variety of programs and services designed to meet changing needs; and Whereas, the YMCA of Greenville lives its mission every day, ``To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all''; and Whereas, the YMCA of Greenville provides parents with high-quality, affordable child care, provides teens with a safe place to go after school; provides families a fun, affordable place to spend time together; provides seniors with social programs; and provides healthy programs and services for everyone in the community; and Whereas, the YMCA of Greenville is part of a national movement that serves nine million children per year, that is the nation's largest child care provider, that currently serves one in ten teens, and that incorporate the values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility into all of its programs; and Whereas, the YMCA of Greenville will further its commitment to this community with the opening of the George I. Theisen North Greenville Family Branch YMCA. Therefore, be it resolved by the United States Congress, that it takes great pleasure in recognizing the newest member of the Greenville YMCAs--the George I. Theisen North Greenville Branch YMCA--and acknowledging with great pride the positive impact of the organization in this community.

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. I will yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for taking the time to understand the problems with the Social Security system and to tell the truth about it. But even more importantly, for taking the time to develop a plan to make Social Security better in the future. That is what has been missing in this debate, truth about the current program and a plan to make Social Security better in the future and to guarantee the benefits. That is what we need to bring to this honest debate that has been requested by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) is a plan in truth. Again, I want to thank the gentleman. I want to thank the Speaker. I want to thank everyone here for recognizing the importance of the Social Security program, but to also recognize that it is Republicans that have a plan to guarantee the future of Social Security. Our head is not in the sand as the other side's is. We are not denying that there is a problem. We are recognizing the problem, but we are developing plans to guarantee that no American will ever receive less from Social Security than is promised by the current program. And we want to put that in writing, and we want it put it down in a plan that will last.

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, although I do think he should have paid his grandson more than $36. But he makes an excellent point. If Americans knew that even the poorest worker, if we start now for those in their 20's and 30's, they will all have several hundred thousand dollars that is theirs that can be turned into a monthly income for their own retirement security, but even more importantly, to have some additional income for their retirement, to pay off a house, to help children or grandchildren. We need to help the poor of America develop wealth that they can pass on to the next generation and Social Security is that only opportunity. We have plans to help them save more and at the same time guarantee that their retirement income will always be as much or more than the current Social Security system. This has been a great start to the discussion. You will hear more from the Republicans because it is the Republicans that have the plans, and it is the Republicans that will tell you the truth.

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate being here today to continue the discussion on this important issue, the issue of retirement security for America's seniors. There has been a lot of discussion about the need to have an honest debate. I think that is very important. But we cannot have an honest debate when we have one side who is just criticizing with no plan, and our side who has been working diligently to develop a plan to guarantee benefits for today's seniors as well as to improve the Social Security system and guarantee even higher benefits for the next generation. It is important that we recognize that Social Security is America's most important government program. It is a sacred promise to the American people. It is a Social Security contract that we cannot ignore. Social Security is a plan that Republicans believe in, and we think that it cannot only make Americans free and secure, but it can secure our future indefinitely if we plan correctly. But we cannot have an honest debate, again, with a side that is full of critics, but no plans. The Democrats at this point have put forward no plan to improve and save Social Security in the future. This is something we must challenge every day. About two-thirds of retired Americans get their primary source of income from Social Security. It is too important to leave to chance. So our purpose here today is to talk about Social Security as it is and how it needs to be, how we can guarantee the benefits for today's seniors and improve the program for tomorrow. In order for that to happen, there has to be more truth about the current Social Security program. It will not do to give a lot of statistics and a lot of misrepresentations. We just heard the gentlewoman speaking of money coming out of the trust fund to go to corporations. This simply is not true. We want to refute these things today and tell Americans the truth about Social Security. The first thing we need to do before we begin the debate is to stop this shameful frightening of senior citizens. The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) was on the floor last night and talked about a secret plan to reduce benefits after the election. They say we do not need to issue a written guarantee to seniors. We must issue a written guarantee if the other side continues to say that this plan is in jeopardy, that their benefits are in jeopardy. One moment they are saying it is a rock-solid investment; the next moment they are saying that someone is going to take it away from seniors. We have a plan to tell every senior citizen in writing that their benefits are guaranteed. The current Social Security program will meet the promised benefits of today's senior citizens. They do not need to worry that any reform plan will change that. The President has said that he will consider no plan that reduces benefits for current seniors or those near retirement. The plans introduced by Republicans, none of them reduce benefits for seniors. The plan that the Democratic side has, which is no plan, means that we will continue with the program that we know is going bankrupt. We need to tell people the truth. The first part of that truth is to reassure our seniors that no one will reduce their benefits. The next thing we need to do is to clarify for today's workers the true nature of this Social Security system. The other side has just suggested that it is the only accumulated savings program for many Americans. Yes, it is the only savings program for many Americans. The problem is that, even though over 12 percent of everything workers make goes into Social Security for their retirement, not one penny of that is saved for their retirement. All of that money is spent on current retirees, paying down debt, or other government programs. The current Social Security system is not set up in a way that allows it to accumulate savings. So, again, we work all of our lives. Many Americans, 20 percent, who do not live over 65, lose everything they put into Social Security, because there is no accumulated savings. We need to guarantee benefits to today's seniors, but for today's workers, we need to tell the Social Security Administration something very simple and something Americans already think that we are doing for them. We tell the Social Security Administration to start saving some of the money that workers are putting into the Social Security program. We do not need to privatize anything. The same Social Security system, the same structure, the same payroll withholding, can continue just as it is. The only difference is is we begin to save some of that money for the future retirement of today's workers. We can do that without compromising in any way the security and benefits of today's seniors. There are several reform plans on the Republican side, and I want to talk about one today that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey) and myself have introduced here in the House. This is a plan that answers many of the questions that were posed by the other side, who has no plan. This plan is called the Social Security Ownership and Guarantee Plan. Let us talk about the words ``ownership'' and ``guarantee.'' Today's Social Security program, while it may be the only savings program for most Americans, saves no money for seniors. We need to start saving and allow individuals to own their Social Security retirement account. At the same time, we need to tell every American that no American will ever receive less from Social Security under the DeMint-Armey plan than they would have received under the existing plan. They have a choice not to leave the current plan at all. So they can stay where they are, or they can begin to save some of the money that is coming out of their paycheck for their retirement. What will happen over the next 20, 30, 40 years is my children and folks in their 20s and 30s will begin to accumulate large sums of money in a personal Social Security account that guarantees them that they will have at least as good or better benefits than the current system. So instead of retiring after a whole life of putting money into Social Security, under the DeMint-Armey plan, Americans will retire with hundreds of thousands of dollars in a Social Security savings account that is theirs. It can be turned into a monthly income and can be used to pass on to their children and grandchildren. We need to recognize that for many poor working Americans the only opportunity for them to leave something to the next generation is from Social Security, and the way Social Security is set up today, all of one's benefits die with them. They have no opportunity to pass along anything that one puts into Social Security. The DeMint-Armey plan allows individuals to save, to invest in safe investments, in government bonds, and to have the money they need for retirement and money to pass on to the next generation. Perhaps even more importantly, the DeMint-Armey plan recognizes that we need to set aside even more of the income for the working poor so that they will have enough when they retire to have their own income as well as money to leave. The DeMint-Armey plan allows folks at the lower income level to keep a larger part of their payroll withholding. They do not take out any more taxes. The taxes stay exactly the same. But they put up to 8 percent of their total salary into the savings account so that, when they retire, they will have something of their own. This is a plan that helps the poor, it helps seniors, it helps America. Because what changes with this DeMint- Armey plan is, when the next generation arrives at retirement, they are no longer dependent on the government for their income. They do not have to listen every election that somebody is going to take their income from them, or there is some secret plan to reduce benefits. They will have their own retirement account, their own retirement income. Many Americans will be wealthy from the Social Security system. There are a lot of folks trying to frighten us today, to say if this money is saved that somehow they will not be as secure. We need to remind Americans that if they have no savings and they are totally dependent on politicians to give them a retirement income, they are not secure at all. In fact, they will continue to be frightened and manipulated, like we have heard today. It is critically important that we talk about the truth, that we debate real plans for Social Security reform, and that we do not continue the charade of the other side that nothing is wrong and nothing has to be changed. If we do not change Social Security, within 30 years benefits will be cut nearly 30 percent. Those cuts will continue, along with increases in payroll taxes over the years. That will happen in about 2038. Social Security is a promise of the future. This is not a problem that we cannot solve. In fact, it is an incredible opportunity for us as a Congress to reshape the Social Security program in a way that makes people not only secure but makes them free and independent in retirement. It gives the poor an opportunity to save and pass along wealth to the next generation. This is the opportunity that we need to give to the American people during the debate on Social Security. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence).

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. It is so refreshing to hear someone dispel the myths; to talk about the need to guarantee benefits, to talk about real ideas that cannot only guarantee the benefits for today's seniors, but to guarantee that no American will ever receive less from Social Security than is promised by the current system. This is leadership, and I want to thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence) for being here today and helping us dispel the myths. We no longer need to listen to the fear tactics, to the manipulation. Surely the other side does not want us to issue a guarantee because they do not want seniors to know that their benefits are safe, because in the upcoming election, Mr. Speaker, they want to run these ads that tell the seniors that someone is going to take their Social Security from them. I can guarantee today's seniors that as long as President Bush is in the White House and the Republicans are leading the Congress, that no American will ever receive less from Social Security than is promised by the current system. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith).

Mr. DeMINT

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 2714, a bill originally introduced by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Largent), for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprints pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.