H.R. 4578 establishes a new account in the U.S. treasury into which deposits will be made to preserve the Social Security system. The bill establishes the "Protect Social Security Account" in anticipation of legislation which addresses the long-term solvency of the Social Security system scheduled for a vote on the floor of the House tomorrow, Saturday, September 26.

"Today's bill is symbolic of the efforts this Congress has made to get our nation's budget into balance for the first time since 1969 and prioritize our mission to stabilize and save social security to benefit Americans of every generation," Lucas said. "We are beginning today on a plan that will take a secure Social Security Trust Fund into the next millennium. This is an historic commitment to saving Social Security."

"It is still remarkable to me that we are finally talking in budget surpluses," Lucas said. "This Congress has now made it possible for us to set money aside for Social Security for the first time since the establishment of the Social Security Trust Fund--and we are going to set aside 90 percent of those budget surpluses every year for the next ten years."

H.R. 4579, the "Taxpayer Relief Act of 1998", which is scheduled for a vote on the House floor tomorrow, would establish a distribution formula for future budget surpluses over the next ten years. Ninety percent of the surpluses (approximately $1.4 trillion over ten years) will be set aside and deposited in the "Protect Social Security Account" established in H.R. 4578, until Social Security reform is passed by Congress. Ten percent of the surpluses (approximately $177 billion over ten years) would go to the American people in the form of tax relief this fall.