[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 31, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H9457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PENSIONS MUST BE PROTECTED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Torkildsen] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. TORKILDSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to discuss an issue 
important to every American: protecting pensions.
  Pensions represent security and independence for all working 
Americans. As Americans have come to rely on Social Security, they also 
have every right to expect their pensions will be there when they 
retire.
  This Congress has made great strides in enacting a balanced budget. 
Finally, Republicans and most Democrats agree that the budget must be 
balanced in the next 6 years. How we actually get to a balanced budget 
is still being debated, but at least there is bipartisan agreement to 
balance the budget.
  The issue of pensions became a part of last year's budget battle. 
While I supported the balanced budget, I voted for the motion to 
instruct conferees that would have ensured workers' pensions throughout 
America. The reason we needed to instruct conferees was that the act 
proposed allowing some businesses to tap into so-called excess pension 
funds. While under this proposal, these funds would need to be used in 
other employee benefit accounts, cutting pension accounts for any 
reason could place workers' retirements at risk. The investment market 
is simply too volatile.
  In many cases these were not ``excess'' pension funds at all, but 
were simply the value that inflation had added to the pension funds. If 
anything, these excess funds should only be used for cost-of-living 
adjustments for retirees. That is why I voted to instruct conferees to 
protect workers' pensions.
  A study done by the Pension Guaranty Corporation reported that plans 
with excess funding could become underfunded with an economic downturn, 
such as a drop in interest rates or market shifts. While businesses 
must make up any shortfalls, this weakens their overall financial 
health. This just is not worth the risk.
  It is critical that Congress protect these pensions for workers as it 
did when the Tax Reform Act of 1986 was passed. Congress recognized 
that employers have an obligation to ensure their employees' pensions. 
This obligation is critical in the 1990's.
  When the budget was signed into law by President Clinton, it 
contained no changes that would allow any corporate raid on pensions. I 
will continue my work to protect workers' pensions. These funds were 
earned by retirees and they must be there when they need them.

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