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1994.02.04 : Families USA Report: Balanced Budget Amendment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              Contact:  HHS Press Office
Friday, Feb. 4, 1994                         (202) 690-6343

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala issued the following statement today
in response to the Families USA report on the balanced budget
amendment:

"We applaud Families USA and Senator Robert C. Byrd for sounding
the alarm about the dangerous consequences of a balanced budget
amendment.  As today's report makes clear, passage of such an
amendment could hurt millions of senior citizens who depend on
Social Security.  A vicious $50 billion raid on the Social Security
Trust Fund would amount to an average cut in Social Security
benefits of more than $1,000 a year.  Cuts of that magnitude would
balance the budget on the backs of the elderly, who rely on Social
Security for survival.  The Clinton Administration is making the
hard choices that are necessary to reduce the budget deficit. 
However, a balanced budget amendment that breaks our covenant with
America's senior citizens is unconscionable."