Social Security’s Treatment Under the Federal Budget: A Summary Page: 4 of 6
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Those who wanted to keep Social Security in the calculations argued that it was not
their purpose to cut Social Security but that the program represents too large a share of
federal revenues and expenditures to be ignored. They contended that removing Social
Security from the calculations would be fiscally misleading and make the goal of achieving
a balanced budget much more difficult. They contended that the real goal of those who
wanted Social Security excluded was to defeat the amendment by making senior citizens
fear that their benefits would be in jeopardy and by making the deficit targets
unrealistically large. They further contended that if Social Security were removed,
advocates of future spending measures would attempt to expand the program's features
to achieve other social purposes (since Social Security would be exempt from the balanced
budget requirements) and that this would threaten the program's ultimate survival.
On January 26, 1995, the House passed its version of the Balanced Budget
Amendment by a vote of 300 to 132. The measure included Social Security in calculations
of the budget. Prior to the final vote, the House rejected four attempts to remove the
program from the calculations. However, the House did pass a nonbinding resolution,
H.Con.Res. 17, by a vote of 412 to 18 on January 25, 1995, stating that, for purposes of
achieving a balanced budget, the appropriate congressional committees shall not report out
legislation that would alter the receipts and disbursement of Social Security. A similar
measure was passed the same day by the Senate in its consideration of S. 1, a bill to curb
the imposition of "unfunded mandates" on the states.
The Senate version of the amendment, as reported by the Senate Judiciary
Committee, also included Social Security in the budget calculations. However, after
lengthy floor deliberations, the amendment failed to get the requisite two-thirds approval
of the Senate. The final vote taken on March 2, 1995 was 65 to 35. In the weeks of
consideration leading up to the vote, Social Security was a major part of the debate. On
February 9, 1995, the Senate agreed by an 87-10 vote to instruct the Senate Budget
Committee to develop a nonbinding plan to achieve a balanced budget without altering
Social Security. However, in later action the Senate rejected four measures to either
remove Social Security from the calculations or otherwise alter its treatment under the
amendment. On February 14, 1995, by a vote of 55-41, the Senate tabled a measure
offered by Senator Reid to exempt the program from the amendment. On February 28,
1995, the Senate tabled three other related measures. One, offered by Senator Feinstein,
tabled by a vote of 60-39, would have taken Social Security out of the calculations in a
fashion similar to the earlier defeated measure offered by Senator Reid. Another, offered
by Senator Bob Graham, tabled by a vote of 59-40, would have required three-fifths of
both houses of the Congress to approve an increase in the total outstanding debt of the
government, including the portion held in federal trust funds such as the Social Security
funds. The version of the amendment reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee
required three-fifths approval to raise only the portion of the debt held by the public. The
Graham amendment would have had an effect similar to the other defeated measures that
excluded Social Security from the budget calculations. A third measure, also offered by
Senator Graham, tabled by a vote of 57-43, would have permitted the portion of the debt
held by the public to rise without three-fifths approval to the extent the rise reflected a
reduction in the portion held by the Social Security trust funds.
After its defeat in 1995, the majority leader, Senator Dole, said that he would attempt
to bring up the amendment again later in the 104th Congress. It was voted on again in the
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Social Security’s Treatment Under the Federal Budget: A Summary, report, March 24, 1999; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806719/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.