To express the sense of the Senate regarding the urgent need for legislation to ensure the long-term viability of the Social Security program.

SA 152. Mr. GRAHAM (for himself and Mr. Santorum) proposed an
amendment to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 18, setting forth
the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal
year 2006 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal
years 2005 and 2007 through 2010; as follows:

At the end of title V, insert the following:

SEC. ___. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING SOCIAL SECURITY
RESTRUCTURING.

(a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
(1) Social Security is the foundation of retirement income
for most Americans;
(2) preserving and strengthening the long term viability of
Social Security is a vital national priority and is essential
for the retirement security of today's working Americans,
current and future retirees, and their families;
(3) Social Security faces significant fiscal and
demographic pressures;
(4) the nonpartisan Office of the Chief Actuary at the
Social Security Administration reports that--
(A) the number of workers paying taxes to support each
Social Security beneficiary has dropped from 16.5 in 1950 to
3.3 in 2002;
(B) within a generation there will be only 2 workers to
support each retiree, which will substantially increase the
financial burden on American workers;
(C) without structural reform, the Social Security system,
beginning in 2018, will pay out more in benefits than it will
collect in taxes;
(D) without structural reform, the Social Security trust
fund will be exhausted in 2042, and Social Security tax
revenue in 2042 will only cover 73 percent of promised
benefits, and will decrease to 68 percent by 2078;
(E) without structural reform, future Congresses may have
to raise payroll taxes 50 percent over the next 75 years to
pay full benefits on time, resulting in payroll tax rates of
as much as 16.9 percent by 2042 and 18.3 percent by 2078;
(F) without structural reform, Social Security's total cash
shortfall over the next 75 years is estimated to be more than
$25,000,000,000,000 in constant 2004 dollars or
$3,700,000,000,000 measured in present value terms; and
(G) absent structural reforms, spending on Social Security
will increase from 4.3 percent of gross domestic product in
2004 to 6.6 percent in 2078; and
(5) the Congressional Budget Office, the Government
Accountability Office, the Congressional Research Service,
the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and the
President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security have all
warned that failure to enact fiscally responsible Social
Security reform quickly will result in 1 or more of the
following:
(A) Higher tax rates.
(B) Lower Social Security benefit levels.
(C) Increased Federal debt or less spending on other
federal programs.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) the President, the Congress, and the American people
including seniors, workers, women, minorities, and disabled
persons should work together at the earliest opportunity to
enact legislation to achieve a solvent and permanently
sustainable Social Security system;
(2) Social Security reform--
(A) must protect current and near retirees from any changes
to Social Security benefits;
(B) must reduce the pressure on future taxpayers and on
other budgetary priorities;
(C) must provide benefit levels that adequately reflect
individual contributions to the Social Security system; and
(D) must preserve and strengthen the safety net for
vulnerable populations including the disabled and survivors;
and
(3) the Senate should honor section 13301 of the Budget
Enforcement Act of 1990.
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