Bunning Amendment To Protect The Social Security Trust Fund Passes The Senate

U.S. Senator Jim Bunning’s amendment to save the Social Security trust fund unanimously passed today by a vote of 98-0 in the United States Senate. The amendment to the FY08 Budget Resolution would create “a point of order” against next year’s Budget Resolution if the budget is not going to achieve a budget surplus (excluding the Social Security trust fund) in the next five years.

“I commend my colleagues for supporting my amendment to protect Social Security for our nation’s seniors and their grandchildren,” said Bunning. “The Senate today finally woke up to the problem of selling Social Security short, and by passing this amendment we are making sure Social Security is available for future generations. I hope this very important amendment survives the Conference Committee and does not die in some back room deal bringing us back to the status quo next year.”

The procedural maneuver of “a point of order” would allow any Senator to object and cause the Budget Resolution to fail on the floor if it continued to tap into the Social Security trust fund for spending on other priorities. The “point of order” could also be used against any floor amendments that tap into the Social Security trust fund and cause them to fail as well. The amendment would allow for more complete protection of Social Security instead of allowing the government to loot the funds for other purposes.

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