Protecting Social Security and Medicare
![handle is hein.journals/hjl33 and id is 467 raw text is: ARTICLE
PROTECTING SOCIAL SECURITY AND
MEDICARE
WILLIAM G. DAUSTER*
in this Article, the Democratic Chief of Staff for the Senate Committee
on the Budget presents Medicare and Social Security as essential pro-
grains that must be protected. Mr Dauster argues that Medicare and
Social Security have not only alleviated serious poverty among the elderly
and extended lives, but that these programs are also overwhelmingly
supported by the public. Though protecting Medicare and Social Security
hinges on maintaining sufficient funds to sustain programmatic benefits,
the author believes Republicans have cynically used the solvency of the
Medicare Trust Fund to frighten the American public into making severe
cuts in Medicare. Likewise, rather than focusing on how to preserve
Social Security, both Democrats and Republicans have debated whether
its surpluses should be included in the budget. Mr. Dauster proposes that
instead of focusing solely on the trust funds' solvency and budgetary
effects, legislators should genuinely attempt to preserve these programs
for the American people.
Social Security' stands as the greatest legacy of Franklin Roosevelt's
New Deal. Medicare2 rests as the cornerstone of Lyndon Johnson's
Great Society. In 1995, the nation celebrated the sixtieth anni-
versary of Social Security and the thirtieth anniversary of Medi-
care. Americans overwhelmingly support these two programs.
Their immense size in the budget, however, makes them tar-
gets for conservatives who want to reduce the size of the federal
government and the federal budget deficit. Claiming that it wants
to preserve, protect, and strengthen Medicare,3 the new Repub-
*Democratic Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel, Committee on the Budget, United
States Senate. B.A., University of Southern California, 1978; M.A., University of
Southern California, 1981; J.D., Columbia University, 1984. The views expressed here
do not necessarily reflect those of the Committee on the Budget or its Minority. The
author wishes to thank Joan M. Huffer, Senior Democratic Analyst for Social Security,
Income Security, and Medicaid, Committee on the Budget, United States Senate, for
her helpful suggestions and comments.
I By Social Security, people commonly mean the Federal programs of Old-Age,
Survivors, and Disability Insurance. In this Article, when referring to the Social
Security Trust Fund the author means the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insur-
ance (OASDI) Trust Funds. See generally SOCIAL SECURITY & MEDICARE BOARD OF
TRUSTEES, STATUS OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE PROGRAMS: A SUMMARY
OF THE 1995 ANNUAL REPORTS 1 (1995) [hereinafter TRUSTEES' SUMMARY REPORT].
2 By Medicare people commonly mean the Federal programs of Hospital Insurance
(Medicare Part A or HI) and Supplementary Medical Insurance (Medicare Part
B or SMI). In the current debate over Medicare's solvency, people generally refer
to the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.
3 See infra notes 188-191 and accompanying text.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/hjl33&div=17&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Protecting Social Security and Medicare
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