00                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 43                                                                     
01 Urging the President of the United States and the United States Congress to protect the                                 
02 Social Security Trust Fund.                                                                                             
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the Social Security Trust Fund was originally developed to ensure a                                     
05 stable platform of retirement, disability, and survivor annuity benefits for hardworking                                
06 Americans and their dependents; and                                                                                     
07       WHEREAS the assets in the Social Security Trust Fund are owned by the working                                   
08 taxpayers of America whose payroll taxes were used to purchase the government securities                                
09 held by the fund; and                                                                                                   
10       WHEREAS the government is not the owner of the Social Security Trust Fund, but                                  
11 merely its steward; and                                                                                                 
12       WHEREAS, during past budget deficits, the Social Security Trust Fund surplus has                                
13 been used to fund other functions of government; and                                                                    
14       WHEREAS Alaska's statewide senior citizen community is, proportionately, the                                    
15 second most rapidly growing in the country; and                                                                         
16       WHEREAS  the number of Alaskans over the age of 60 is expected to reach 20                                      
01 percent of the population by the year 2025; and                                                                         
02       WHEREAS it us understood that deficits may be unavoidable during times of war;                                  
03       BE IT RESOLVED the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges the President of                                 
04 the United States and the United States Congress to use the Social Security Trust Fund only                             
05 for its original intent; and be it                                                                                      
06       FURTHER RESOLVED the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges the Alaska                                     
07 Delegation to the United States Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to ensure                                
08 that the Social Security Trust Fund is used solely for its original intent.                                             
09       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                              
10 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States                              
11 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Thomas Daschle, Majority Leader of the U.S.                             
12 Senate; the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the                              
13 Honorable Senator Robert C. Byrd, Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations;                                 
14 the Honorable Bill Thomas, Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways                                 
15 and Means; the Honorable Senator Ted Stevens, Ranking Minority Member of the United                                     
16 States Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senator,                                 
17 and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in                                   
18 Congress.