(WASHINGTON, DC) – Congressmen Dennis Moore (KS-3) and Mike Ross (AR-4) today introduced legislation that would establish a Social Security and Medicare lockbox to protect both Social Security and Medicare surpluses from being raided for new spending or other purposes.

The bill was introduced in response to recent comments from the Bush Administration suggesting their willingness to use Medicare and Social Security trust funds for purposes other than retirement security or health care.

"This legislation codifies one of the principles that I outlined in earlier legislation to help Congress develop a framework that takes Social Security and Medicare off the table when considering the annual budget," said Congressman Moore. "The upcoming budget debate will be the time to strike a blow for fiscal restraint by placing our nation on the path of national debt reduction and strengthening Social Security and Medicare. I am concerned that budget projections still include the Social Security and Medicare trust funds and that Congress and the administration may be willing to use them to fund new budget initiatives."

Social Security is already off-budget, and has the benefit of parliamentary points of order against using its surpluses for other purposes. This bill would create similar points of order for Medicare. Any legislation that would reduce Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund surpluses for any purpose unrelated to Medicare could be challenged. In addition, the legislation would protect Medicare from across-the-board cuts that could be triggered if Congress exceeds other budgetary limits.

"Under the current "pay-as-you-go" law, if Congress uses surpluses either for tax breaks or mandatory spending, Medicare automatically gets cut. That would end under this bill," said Moore. "Bipartisan majorities of both Houses of Congress voted last year to take Social Security and Medicare surpluses off-budget. I hope Congress and the president will hold off on advancing new budget initiatives until we have all affirmed our commitment to protecting and preserving Social Security and Medicare."

Moore, a member of the House Budget Committee and co-chairman of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition’s Task Force on the Budget and Social Security, sent a letter along with 16 other Members of Congress to the President urging that he reconsider his position on using Medicare surpluses for other purposes.

"A majority of members from both parties have agreed that raiding the Social Security and Medicare trust fund monies to pay for spending programs or tax cuts is unacceptable," Ross said. "This legislation locks away these funds from being considered as part of the federal budget, and it protects Medicare from future cuts that could jeopardize the solvency of this vital program."

Ross continued: "As the baby boomers prepare to retire, we must ensure that these programs are ready to meet the needs of this and future generations. I hope that President Bush will agree that maintaining our current discipline by paying down the national debt, preserving and strengthening Social Security and Medicare, and providing a responsible tax cut is the right thing to do for America."

The leadership on Tuesday plans to rush to the House floor a watered-down version of the Ross-Moore bill under expedited procedure rules. The majority’s legislation, H.R. 2, allows an exception for both the Social Security and Medicare surpluses to be used to finance tax and spending initiatives.

"The majority bill contains a loophole that allows any tax and spending bill to dip into surpluses if it contains somewhere within it the phrase, ‘Social Security reform legislation or Medicare reform legislation,’" said Moore. "While I am encouraged by the majority’s willingness to bring Medicare lockbox legislation to the floor, I wish they would have allowed for the consideration of and debate on our stronger proposal so that we might have an honest dialogue on this important issue."