[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 155 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12058-S12059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




AMENDING TITLE I OF THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Labor 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1377, and 
further that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the bill.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 1377) to amend title I of the Employee 
     Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to encourage 
     retirement income savings.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.


                           Amendment No. 1612

       (Purpose: To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security 
     Act of 1974 to promote retirement income savings through the 
     establishment of an outreach program in the Department of 
     Labor and periodic National Summits on Retirement Savings)

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, Senator Grassley has a substitute amendment 
at the desk, and I ask for its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Lott], for Mr. Grassley, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 1612.

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The text of the amendment is printed in today's Record under 
``Amendments Submitted.'')
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, almost 7 months ago, my colleague and I, 
Senator John Breaux, introduced S. 757, legislation identical to H.R. 
1377. This legislation--the Savings Are Vital to Everyone's Retirement 
Act or SAVER is now ready for passage in the Senate and ultimately 
signature of the President. While it took a little longer than I had 
hoped--it is still a timely and vital piece of legislation.
  When I introduced the bill back in May, I cited some statistics on 
the dismal level of savings by individuals in this country. I said that 
only about one-third of American workers had calculated how much they 
will need to save by retirement in order to maintain their standard of 
living. I said that workers in the 40's to the early 50's had seen 
their savings levels drop by 6 percent from 1988 to 1994.

[[Page S12059]]

  Well, these kinds of numbers are very consistent with new data 
recently released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute in its 
annual Retirement Confidence Survey. Slightly more than one-third of 
the people surveyed in 1997 have even tried to determine how much they 
need to save by retirement. Only 27 percent of Americans had an idea of 
what they would need to accumulate in order to retire and maintain 
their standard of living.
  And people are very afraid. A recent poll by USA Today indicated that 
49 percent of people are afraid of not having enough money for 
retirement.
  Clearly, people need help in learning how to achieve a secure 
retirement. The SAVER bill which is now before the Senate, will do 
that. The SAVER Act will direct the Department of Labor to maintain an 
ongoing public education campaign about the need to save for 
retirement. This campaign will include a broad scope of initiatives 
including public service announcements, covering public meetings, and 
crating and disseminating educational materials.
  Education has proven to be a powerful motivator for people to pay 
attention to their retirement savings. According to the Retirement 
Confidence Survey, of those employees who were provided educational 
programs and materials about the company pension plan, 45 percent said 
that it led them to begin contributing to the plan. Furthermore, 49 
percent said that the educational programs and materials led them to 
reallocate their money among investment options offered.
  The Department of Labor already has a good start on a public 
education initiative; this legislation will ensure that public 
education will continue beyond the current administration because this 
is a problem that will not go away.
  The second important piece of this legislation is the creation of a 
national event--a national summit on retirement savings at the White 
House. This summit will be a truly bipartisan event--hosted by both the 
executive and congressional branch. The summit will bring together more 
than 200 experts in the field of pensions and retirement savings, 
elected officials, and representatives from the private sector and the 
public--all with the goal of raising the profile of the importance of 
saving and identifying barriers to saving and pension formation.
  The first national summit will be held in the summer of 1998--just a 
short time from now. We will be able to get the summit organized due in 
large part to the groundwork already laid by a very effective group--
the American Savings Education Council or ASEC. ASEC is unique in its 
origins and its mission. Its membership is made up of public and 
private sector employers financial, educational, and service 
organizations; and government agencies.
  The organization is committed to helping individuals understand what 
they need to do to prepare for retirement and to encourage savings for 
the future. ASEC has already made appearances in towns around the 
country to talk about retirement planning and has distributed a logical 
choice for a private partner to work with the public sector lead--the 
Department of Labor--to get the national summit on track for 1998.
  I would like to commend Congressmen Harris Fawell and Donald Payne 
for introducing this legislation in the House. The support they 
generated was an important part of the successful consideration of this 
bill. I also want to acknowledge the cosponsors in the Senate--Senator 
Kerry, Senator Kyl, Senator Hagel, Senator Tim Hutchinson, Senator 
Robb, Senator Collins, and Senator Cochran.
  Today's workers need to be prepared for retirement--private savings 
can help minimize the risk that they will spend down their employers's 
401(k) or count on more pension benefits than they will actually 
receive from their employer. Or, help prepare for the costs of medical 
care through long-term care insurance--that is an expense that worries 
many of today's retirees and their children. As we prepare for debate 
over the future of public retirement programs we must not overlook the 
role that private savings and an employer-based pension will play. The 
Government should play role in encouraging individuals to acquire 
knowledge that will help them achieve a secure standard of living when 
they are no longer able to work--SAVER is a critical first step in 
helping people achieve their hopes for retirement.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment 
be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 1612) was agreed to.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
considered read a third time and passed, as amended, that the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to 
the bill appear at the appropriate place in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 1377), as amended, was read a third time and passed.

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