As I have said before, I think it’s time for those of us in Washington to keep our hands off of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.   On Tuesday, I introduced legislation to do just that.  My bill, the Social Security and Medicare Off-Budget Lockbox Act of 2001, would establish a Social Security and Medicare lockbox to protect both Social Security and Medicare surpluses from being raided to pay for other programs or tax breaks.  

Social Security is already considered off-budget in the budget process.  My measure would take Medicare off-budget in the same manner that Social Security is already treated.  And my bill contains no loopholes or trap doors that would allow politicians to dip into these funds for anything other than Social Security or Medicare.

I support a tax cut for our nation’s working families, but I want to make sure that we provide a responsible tax cut—one that allows us to continue paying down our national debt—which is $5 trillion, and to preserve Social Security and to modernize Medicare by including a prescription drug benefit for all seniors.

(From our Nation’s Capitol, this is Mike Ross—your United States Congressman—with another Legislative Update.)