[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 10, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7625-S7626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE ACTION AGENDA

  Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I wanted to call attention to the fact 
that yesterday, as we passed the important piece of legislation dealing 
with minimum wage, one of the issues that I do not think got the kind 
of attention that I had hoped it would receive, and really deserves, 
has to do with pensions and has to do with the significant new 
contribution we made to pension reform in the package of amendments 
that we added to the minimum wage bill.
  That legislation dealing with pensions has several categories, one of 
which is an issue which a number of our colleagues have expressed a 
great deal of concern about and are prepared to support in a series of 
amendments dealing with women's pension equity. There is a significant 
disparity among working people, between men and women, with regard to 
pension equity.
  Senator Boxer and Senator Moseley-Braun, in particular, added 
amendments to this package which would begin to address that disparity, 
which would begin to close the gap, the chasm, really, between men and 
women when it comes to pensions. I want to publicly commend them for 
their leadership and their willingness to work with all of us to find a 
way with which to begin making the effort to close that gap and to 
provide the kind of equity that I know all of our colleagues would like 
to achieve. Senator Boxer's provision will make it more likely that 
surviving spouses--typically women--will be able to avoid significant 
cutbacks in the level of retirement income provided while their spouses 
were alive. Senator Moseley-Braun's provisions

[[Page S7626]]

will remove roadblocks that can prevent surviving spouses and former 
spouses from getting the benefits they are entitled to from both 
private sector pension plans and Federal retirement programs.
  Beyond women's equity, we also dealt with the issue of pension 
portability. We have a very significant problem in this country that 
exists every time someone wants to leave their job to go to another 
job. Pension portability is almost as serious a problem as health care 
portability. We need to find ways with which our workers can take 
pensions with them and keep increasing retirement savings without 
obstacles or cutbacks as they move from one job to the next. This bill 
will expand the PBGC's missing participant program to help ensure that 
retirees who have lost touch with their former employer never find 
their benefits unexpectedly forfeited when the pension plan terminates. 
It will also make it easier for new employees to enter their employers' 
401k plan immediately, rather than waiting to benefit.
  Finally, there are a number of issues relating directly to pension 
security that have to be addressed. Security for pensions is something 
that increases in urgency for workers as they get closer to that date 
when they will retire. There is a pervasive sense of insecurity about 
pensions in retirement today. Working people, men and women, are very 
concerned about whether or not they will have the capacity to deal with 
the problems that they know they will confront with regard to their own 
income viability, their own ability to ensure some confidence that they 
will have the necessary means to live in some security and comfort 
during retirement. The way that we are going to be able to address that 
effectively is to put the kind of priority and attention on pension 
security that it deserves. We took an important step yesterday by 
increasing the guaranteed benefit provided to retirees from 
multiemployer pension plans that become insolvent.
  Several months ago, we laid out our desire to see an action agenda 
addressed. That action agenda has four components. The first was 
personal security and the need to ensure that people are safe in their 
neighborhoods. The second was paycheck security and the real desire 
that working people have to earn more income. The third was health 
security. And the fourth is pension security.

  Madam President, we are now at a point where we have been able to 
address all four of those security questions. We have been able to 
protect the cops on the beat program. We have made a downpayment in 
providing better personal security out on the street than we had 
before. Yesterday, we passed the minimum wage bill.
  We are working on both sides of the aisle, hopefully, to resolve our 
differences in the Kennedy-Kassebaum legislation. I hope we can, at 
some point, put that bill back before the Senate in an effort to 
resolve what remaining differences there are, in an effort to move it 
forward and to have a Presidential signature and, at long last, declare 
our victory with regard to the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill.
  Health insurance portability is something we all ought to support, 
and, in fact, have supported. The Kennedy-Kassebaum bill passed by a 
vote of 100 to 0. There is no reason whatever that we cannot finish 
that legislation this month. I hope we can continue to keep our eye on 
the ball. Our eye on the ball in this case is clearly portability for 
health insurance.
  All the other issues, as important as they may be, can be resolved, 
as well. But the important issue, the one matter that unites us all, is 
the need to have that portability. We ought to use this legislation to 
get that job done.
  Now, finally, pension portability and pension security--it is 
critical we get that legislation passed. I am hopeful with the action 
taken yesterday that will happen.
  This is part of a larger agenda the Democrats have laid out, having 
three components--security, which I have addressed, opportunity, and 
responsibility. We will have a lot more to say about those three 
components in the weeks and months ahead. I know that we are now 
prepared to go to the pending matter. For that, I yield the floor.
  (Mr. DeWINE assumed the chair.)

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