When President Bush proposed letting people invest Social Security in the stock market, the stock market average was on the rise. In October 2007, the market climbed to14,280 points. However, by March of 2009, the Dow Jones average dropped to 7,969 points. This means if individuals had been allowed to invest Social Security in the stock market in October 2007, then only 16 months later, they would have lost 55% of what they invested. Even today, they would have lost 22%. I certainly don't think that proposal was a good idea.

Our nation will uphold its commitment to preserve Social Security and Medicare to ensure that recipients receive the benefits they were promised. I am also aware that the American people are facing a very difficult economic crisis. It is important that our money is used to meet urgent needs and not increase deficits. The new Administration and Congress must start making responsible decisions and setting budget priorities. If something is worth doing, it must be worth paying for.

We have known for more than two decades that the current structure and financing of Medicare and Social Security cannot provide for the increased enrollment and spending that will accompany the retirement of the baby-boom generation. Between 2010 and 2030, the number of people aged 65 and older is projected to increase by 75%. The number of workers whose taxes will finance future Social Security benefits is only projected to increase by 8%. Medicare is also expected to grow at an average growth rate of 7.0% which will cause costs to double over the next 10 years. As a result, the costs of both services will grow faster than spending in the economy.

For the past 25 years, Social Security and Medicare collected more in payroll taxes than they spent in benefits. The surpluses should have been saved and invested to pay for future benefits. Instead, the surplus funds were borrowed by the Treasury and spent on other government programs. The Treasury now owes more than $2.4 trillion to the Social Security trust funds and more than $300 billion to Medicare.

Throughout my time as your Congressman, I remained consistent to spending federal dollars on programs that are necessary and affordable. Congress and the President need to be more fiscally responsible so that we can balance the budget and pay down the national debt. In fact, I have been saying that to Presidents and Congresses from both parties for the past 20 years.

In May of 2001 when President Bush was proposing spending increases and tax breaks that would put our nation in debt, I spoke on the House floor about Social Security and the promise our government has made to the taxpayers to protect the money they have paid into Social Security for retirement.

"Mr. Speaker, for those Americans who are paying into the Social Security system and have paid into it, some a lot longer than others, you would probably be shocked to know that our Nation owes the Social Security trust system $1.7 trillion. That is money collected out of every working American's paycheck with the promise starting in the Reagan years, a Democratic House, a Republican Senate, a Republican President which promised that money would be set aside for retirement. They took the money, but they did not set it aside for retirement, it was spent on other things, and the Nation now owes the Social Security trust system $1.7 trillion."

"Right now our Nation owes the Medicare trust fund $229.2 billion. Right now. The much-vaunted lockbox that my colleagues talk about, if you opened it up, you would discover it is nothing more than Tupperware; and if you opened it up, all you would find is an IOU for $229 billion."

"I think the best Americans are those Americans who tell the truth, and I think it is time for this Congress to rise to the occasion and tell the American people the truth. And before we do anything else, before we make any new promises, let us fulfill the promise to Social Security that we already made. Let us fulfill the promise to Medicare that we already made, and let us fulfill the promise to our military retirees that we have already made, and let us fulfill the promise to civil service that we have already made."

In 2000, the federal budget was balanced and future surpluses were projected. I voted against the Bush budget proposal that turned our nation's annual operating surplus into huge deficits, against a budget that started with a surplus and ended with the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, and against a budget that doubled our national debt in 8 years.

Those budget surpluses could have repaid Social Security and Medicare before the retirement of the baby-boomers. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration and a Republican Majority in the House and Senate immediately increased spending and gave tax breaks that brought back huge deficits. In eight years, President Bush increased the federal debt by $4.9 trillion and $1.4 trillion of that debt was borrowed from Social Security. The first thing we must do to save Social Security and Medicare is stop borrowing from the trust funds and start paying them back.

Congress and the President need to be more fiscally responsible so that we can balance the budget and pay down the national debt. In recent months, I voted against President Bush's $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, against President Obama's stimulus plan, against the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill, and against the Obama Administration's budget, because none of those proposals were responsible or affordable. I also voted against every version of the health care bill because I firmly believe I believe that Congress should focus on fulfilling the promises that have already been made rather than make new promises that we cannot afford.

Congress and the President need to work very carefully on any structural changes needed to prepare for the retirement of the baby-boom generation and its effects on our retirement and health care systems in the future. The increase in the baby boomers will force Social Security and Medicare to become more cost effective while still providing the benefits promised by the program.