When the U.S. Senate had the opportunity last week to end the outrageous practice of robbing Social Security dollars to spend on other government programs, they voted the measure down 53 to 46. This amendment to the fiscal year 2007 budget resolution would have simply required all Social Security payroll tax receipts to be used solely for Social Security benefits.

The amendment offered by Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) did not propose optional personal retirement accounts, raise taxes or reduce benefits. It simply mandated that Social Security dollars be used solely for future benefits. This would not have solved the oncoming financial crisis, but it would have been a good start. More importantly, the Senate could have shown that they recognize the dishonesty of taxing taxpayers for one purpose and then using the money for another purpose. Obviously, they have a different definition of dishonest.

The Senate also voted last week to raise the federal debt ceiling to nearly $9 trillion, dispelling any myths that a majority of Senators are truly committed to fiscal restraint. The Senate continued their spending madness by approving budget amendments to increase funding by over $3 billion for heating assistance for the poor. Excuse me! This is not a legitimate role of the federal government. It is a local responsibility. Will the next program pay for central air conditioning for the poor? This is the kind of program that has led to the spending mess we are in today with all social programs.

Instead of actually fixing the problems Congress caused in the first place by enacting their litany of entitlement programs, the Senate last week chose the ageless and gutless election year tactic of “spend ‘till it hurts, then raise the limits and spend some more.” To address the alleged problem of the poor choosing between food and heat, the Senate could have cut the stifling taxes and regulations on energy companies, encouraging them to increase the supplies of oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power. This Senate would have none of that common sense thinking. To the contrary, we are asked to believe that energy companies are evil profit-makers who raise grandma’s gas bill in the dead of winter, requiring the good guys in the Senate to ride to the rescue with bags of cash.

To address the problem of exceeding the debt limit, senators could have finally acted to restructure the dysfunctional Social Security program. Mandatory spending on this and other entitlement programs accounts for more than fifty percent of federal spending, and will exceed sixty percent by 2015. The Social Security Trustees stated last year that by 2017 the program will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, and is headed toward certain bankruptcy by 2047.

I am convinced that this spending madness will continue until the voters, the taxpayers and those citizens who give a “flip” about the future of the country demand sanity in how Congress spends our money. There are some common sense things we can do.

First, we must contact our representatives in the House and Senate and demand that they pass a responsible budget. All members of the House must run for reelection or retire, and most this year will shy away from controversial issues or votes. We must remind them that our support is contingent upon their fiscal conservatism.

Thirty-three Senators have terms expiring in 2007. Of that group, twenty-nine have announced they are seeking reelection. If they are not fiscal conservatives we must work hard to replace them. Fiscal irresponsibility and economic illiteracy barely know a party label anymore.

Second, we must urge the president to finally uncap his veto pen. Bush absolutely must veto the final appropriations bills Congress presents him, if for no other reason than their planned spending will go far beyond his original budget requests. By exercising the first veto of his presidency, Bush’s popularity rating will surely rise, and at a time when he most needs it. Congress obviously does not fear the veto threat. It is time to drop the veto bomb on Congress, forcing them to defend their wasteful spending and get to work on common sense solutions.

Finally, we must vote out the irresponsible Senators and Congressmen whose votes demonstrate their arrogance and apathy toward the American public. We should expect Senate Democrats to play loose with the purse strings, but now even Republican Senators have turned a deaf ear to their base.

We must remind our members of Congress that deceiving the public is no longer an acceptable campaign tactic. But until they feel the heat from their constituents they will continue this spending madness, while the nation’s economic future burns.

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