[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 177 (Thursday, November 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H11977-H11978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RAIDING OF PENSION PLANS

  (Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address a 
provision that was included in budget reconciliation. This provision 
would allow 

[[Page H 11978]]
corporations to remove excess funds from overfunded pension plans for 
any reason. There is only one way to describe this provision and that 
is the raiding of pension plans.
  This issue has received much attention across the Nation and the 
general consensus is this is a bad idea. In the September 25, 1995 
edition of the Chicago Tribune there was an article entitled ``Keep 
Paws Off Pension Fund Assets.'' Let me read you a quote from this 
article:

       Well-heeled financial backers of the majority in Congress--
     perhaps sensing that the good days won't last much longer for 
     them, either--are busy grabbing for everything they can get 
     as fast as they can get it. Under cover of the high profile 
     debates about budget deficits, welfare reform and Medicare, 
     they are stuffing their cheeks with smaller morsels that 
     don't get media attention. The latest is a proposed raid on 
     corporate pension funds, which represent the storehouse of 
     retirement savings for millions of American workers.

  This article is right on target. We cannot allow corporations to 
siphon off excess pension assets. These pension assets are prudently 
invested and they should remain in the market. The corporate pension 
reversion provision does not belong in budget reconciliation. The 
Senate took a vote to remove it from their budget legislation. We 
should follow their lead. We cannot allow pension funds to be used as 
tax free corporate checking accounts.

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