Indiana Congressman Steve Buyer, Fifth Congressional District, was in Warsaw Wednesday for a town meeting.

At his third town hall meeting of the day, he addressed concerns regarding the budget, Social Security, Medicare, farming and other issues during the 1-1/2 hour session.

Before opening up to questions, Buyer first touched on the budget.

"I couldn't imagine saying to my children, 'I'm going to buy a new car, I'm going to take a vacation, I'm going to buy a DVD, a new entertainment center, and by the way, kids, you're going to pay the bill.' But that's what we were doing," Buyer said. "In 1993, being the 39th and 40th year of Democratic control of Congress. New president. He controls the House and the White House. In 1993, the projected annual budget deficit up to this year was $1.2 trillion. That was the projected deficit. Meaning the national debt will grow. The projected budget deficit for this year, right here, was $288 billion. You know what a billion dollars is? A lot of money."

Buyer said he asked the IRS to calculate for him the federal tax receipts for the Fifth Congressional District of Indiana. After a few guesses from the crowd of 20, Buyer said it is $990 million for the 20 counties in the district, corporate and individual - "just shy of $1 billion."

If the annual federal budget deficit is $288 billion, and the Fifth District is close to $1 billion, he said, the budget really "begins to take a reality of its own," considering there are only 135 total congressional districts in the United States.

"We are going to change that. It's not often do you get to change a dynamic," Buyer said. Two dynamics have occurred recently, he said: balanced budgets and stopping the raid on Social Security.

"If I had stood before you eight years ago and said this: 'The federal government is going to balance the budget, it's going to save the Medicare system, preserve the Medicare program, work on the long-term solvents of Social Security, we're no longer spending the Social Security money, we'll have budget surpluses, we'll begin payments on the national debt and a plan to pay off the national debt in 15 years, and by having done that, we'll have an economic explosion and prosperity in the country and that interest rates will go down in excess of two points.' You know what you would have said? You would have said, 'Steve, I'm aware that there's a mental hospital in Logansport and we're going to refer you.'"

As for Social Security, Buyer said, money taken out of weekly paychecks to pay FICA is only party used for Social Security. He said the rest is spent by the government for other programs.

"I don't believe in that. I believe it's wrong," Buyer said. In the last State of the Union address, Buyer said, President Clinton told the country he would set aside 62 cents out of every dollar for Social Security and spend only 38 cents per dollar for new programs. "He thought he was doing the right thing, but we said, 'No,'" Buyer said. Last summer, he said, the two parties had it out over Social Security. Now, he said, trillions of dollars in Social Security money can't be touched.

Another example of how the dynamics have changed, he said, is that the government is now in its third year of paying down the national debt. In 1995, the budget was projected to run a $250 billion deficit every year. In fiscal year 1998, $51 billion was paid down; $102 billion in fiscal 1999; and a projected $131 billion will be paid down in 2000.

As for health care, one resident suggested that a more public role by the government in preventive health care could save money as genetics play one-third of health problems and lifestyles plays two-thirds.

"Doesn't one word sum that up? Responsibility," said John Elliott, another of the 20 taxpayers who attended.

Buyer said it is correct that prevention solves problems before they happen, but asked: "How do you take a horse to water if he doesn't want to drink?"

A woman said insurance companies shouldn't pay for illnesses that are self-induced, and Elliott suggested that people who are injured by their own drunk driving shouldn't be covered.

Buyer said some diseases result from more than self-induced reasons.

"AIDS. ... It doesn't just happen because of unprotected sex," he said. He cited transfusions as one example.

A physician said he is thankful that mammograms are now covered under Medicare. However, he said, he would also like Dexascanning to be covered. Dexascanning checks for thinning of bones which often affects the elderly.

Buyer said that while there is also pressure to add new diseases under Medicare, what gets his attention is prevention.

Farm prices were a concern of a local farmer. He said the government hasn't helped as far as exports go. He said he doesn't know what role, if any, the government should play, but farmers are having trouble. He also said if farmers could follow fewer EPA rules and receive tax cuts, that would help.

Buyer said Clinton vetoed the tax cut of more than $800 billion over 10 years.

The farmer replied, "It was no big tax cut." Buyer politely disagreed.

"The real question is do I see relief? I wish I could say yes. I don't think I can," Buyer said.

Buyer reminded the crowd to listen to President Clinton's State of the Union address Jan. 27. [[In-content Ad]]