[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H10543-H10548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SAVINGS ARE VITAL TO EVERYONE'S RETIREMENT ACT OF 1997
Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in
the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 1377) to amend title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to encourage retirement
income savings.
The Clerk read as follows:
Senate amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Savings Are Vital to
Everyone's Retirement Act of 1997''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The impending retirement of the baby boom generation
will severely strain our already overburdened entitlement
system, necessitating increased reliance on pension and other
personal savings.
(2) Studies have found that less than a third of Americans
have even tried to calculate how much they will need to have
saved by retirement, and that less than 20 percent are very
confident they will have enough money to live comfortably
throughout their retirement.
(3) A leading obstacle to expanding retirement savings is
the simple fact that far too many Americans--particularly the
young--are either unaware of, or without the knowledge and
resources necessary to take advantage of, the extensive
benefits offered by our retirement savings system.
(b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act--
(1) to advance the public's knowledge and understanding of
retirement savings and its critical importance to the future
well-being of American workers and their families;
(2) to provide for a periodic, bipartisan national
retirement savings summit in conjunction with the White House
to elevate the issue of savings to national prominence; and
(3) to initiate the development of a broad-based, public
education program to encourage and enhance individual
commitment to a personal retirement savings strategy.
SEC. 3. OUTREACH BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
(a) In General.--Part 5 of subtitle B of title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
1131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following
new section:
``outreach to promote retirement income savings
``Sec. 516. (a) In General.--The Secretary shall maintain
an ongoing program of outreach to the public designed to
effectively promote retirement income savings by the public.
``(b) Methods.--The Secretary shall carry out the
requirements of subsection (a) by means
[[Page H10544]]
which shall ensure effective communication to the public,
including publication of public service announcements, public
meetings, creation of educational materials, and
establishment of a site on the Internet.
``(c) Information To Be Made Available.--The information to
be made available by the Secretary as part of the program of
outreach required under subsection (a) shall include the
following:
``(1) a description of the vehicles currently available to
individuals and employers for creating and maintaining
retirement income savings, specifically including information
explaining to employers, in simple terms, the characteristics
and operation of the different retirement savings vehicles,
including the steps to establish each such vehicle, and
``(2) information regarding matters relevant to
establishing retirement income savings, such as--
``(A) the forms of retirement income savings,
``(B) the concept of compound interest,
``(C) the importance of commencing savings early in life,
``(D) savings principles,
``(E) the importance of prudence and diversification in
investing,
``(F) the importance of the timing of investments, and
``(G) the impact on retirement savings of life's
uncertainties, such as living beyond one's life expectancy.
``(d) Establishment of Site on the Internet.--The Secretary
shall establish a permanent site on the Internet concerning
retirement income savings. The site shall contain at least
the following information:
``(1) a means for individuals to calculate their estimated
retirement savings needs, based on their retirement income
goal as a percentage of their preretirement income;
``(2) a description in simple terms of the common types of
retirement income savings arrangements available to both
individuals and employers (specifically including small
employers), including information on the amount of money that
can be placed into a given vehicle, the tax treatment of the
money, the amount of accumulation possible through different
typical investment options and interest rate projections, and
a directory of resources of more descriptive information;
``(3) materials explaining to employers in simple terms,
the characteristics and operation of the different retirement
savings arrangements for their workers and what the basic
legal requirements are under this Act and the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, including the steps to establish each
such arrangement;
``(4) copies of all educational materials developed by the
Department of Labor, and by other Federal agencies in
consultation with such Department, to promote retirement
income savings by workers and employers; and
``(5) links to other sites maintained on the Internet by
governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations that
provide additional detail on retirement income savings
arrangements and related topics on savings or investing.
``(e) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate the
outreach program under this section with similar efforts
undertaken by other public and private entities.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents in section
1 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 514 the following new items:
``Sec. 515. Delinquent contributions.
``Sec. 516. Outreach to promote retirement income savings.''.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL SUMMIT ON RETIREMENT SAVINGS.
(a) In General.--Part 5 of subtitle B of title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended
by section 3 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``national summit on retirement savings
``Sec. 517. (a) Authority To Call Summit.--Not later than
July 15, 1998, the President shall convene a National Summit
on Retirement Income Savings at the White House, to be co-
hosted by the President and the Speaker and the Minority
Leader of the House of Representatives and the Majority
Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate. Such a National
Summit shall be convened thereafter in 2001 and 2005 on or
after September 1 of each year involved. Such a National
Summit shall--
``(1) advance the public's knowledge and understanding of
retirement savings and its critical importance to the future
well-being of American workers and their families;
``(2) facilitate the development of a broad-based, public
education program to encourage and enhance individual
commitment to a personal retirement savings strategy;
``(3) develop recommendations for additional research,
reforms, and actions in the field of private pensions and
individual retirement savings; and
``(4) disseminate the report of, and information obtained
by, the National Summit and exhibit materials and works of
the National Summit.
``(b) Planning and Direction.--The National Summit shall be
planned and conducted under the direction of the Secretary,
in consultation with, and with the assistance of, the heads
of such other Federal departments and agencies as the
President may designate. Such assistance may include the
assignment of personnel. The Secretary shall, in planning and
conducting the National Summit, consult with the
congressional leaders specified in subsection (e)(2). The
Secretary shall also, in carrying out the Secretary's duties
under this subsection, consult and coordinate with at least
one organization made up of private sector businesses and
associations partnered with Government entities to promote
long-term financial security in retirement through savings.
``(c) Purpose of National Summit.--The purpose of the
National Summit shall be--
``(1) to increase the public awareness of the value of
personal savings for retirement;
``(2) to advance the public's knowledge and understanding
of retirement savings and its critical importance to the
future well-being of American workers and their families;
``(3) to facilitate the development of a broad-based,
public education program to encourage and enhance individual
commitment to a personal retirement savings strategy;
``(4) to identify the problems workers have in setting
aside adequate savings for retirement;
``(5) to identify the barriers which employers, especially
small employers, face in assisting their workers in
accumulating retirement savings;
``(6) to examine the impact and effectiveness of individual
employers to promote personal savings for retirement among
their workers and to promote participation in company savings
options;
``(7) to examine the impact and effectiveness of government
programs at the Federal, State, and local levels to educate
the public about, and to encourage, retirement income
savings;
``(8) to develop such specific and comprehensive
recommendations for the legislative and executive branches of
the Government and for private sector action as may be
appropriate for promoting private pensions and individual
retirement savings; and
``(9) to develop recommendations for the coordination of
Federal, State, and local retirement income savings
initiatives among the Federal, State, and local levels of
government and for the coordination of such initiatives.
``(d) Scope of National Summit.--The scope of the National
Summit shall consist of issues relating to individual and
employer-based retirement savings and shall not include
issues relating to the old-age, survivors, and disability
insurance program under title II of the Social Security Act.
``(e) National Summit Participants.--
``(1) In general.--To carry out the purposes of the
National Summit, the National Summit shall bring together--
``(A) professionals and other individuals working in the
fields of employee benefits and retirement savings;
``(B) Members of Congress and officials in the executive
branch;
``(C) representatives of State and local governments;
``(D) representatives of private sector institutions,
including individual employers, concerned about promoting the
issue of retirement savings and facilitating savings among
American workers; and
``(E) representatives of the general public.
``(2) Statutorily required participation.--The participants
in the National Summit shall include the following
individuals or their designees:
``(A) the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives;
``(B) the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the
Senate;
``(C) the Chairman and ranking Member of the Committee on
Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives;
``(D) the Chairman and ranking Member of the Committee on
Labor and Human Resources of the Senate;
``(E) the Chairman and ranking Member of the Special
Committee on Aging of the Senate;
``(F) the Chairman and ranking Member of the Subcommittees
on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education of the
Senate and House of Representatives; and
``(G) the parties referred to in subsection (b).
``(3) Additional participants.--
``(A) In general.--There shall be not more than 200
additional participants. Of such additional participants--
``(i) one-half shall be appointed by the President, in
consultation with the elected leaders of the President's
party in Congress (either the Speaker of the House of
Representatives or the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives, and either the Majority Leader or the
Minority Leader of the Senate; and
``(ii) one-half shall be appointed by the elected leaders
of Congress of the party to which the President does not
belong (one-half of that allotment to be appointed by either
the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the Minority
Leader of the House of Representatives, and one-half of that
allotment to be appointed by either the Majority Leader or
the Minority Leader of the Senate).
``(B) Appointment requirements.--The additional
participants described in subparagraph (A) shall be--
``(i) appointed not later than January 31, 1998;
``(ii) selected without regard to political affiliation or
past partisan activity; and
``(iii) representative of the diversity of thought in the
fields of employee benefits and retirement income savings.
``(4) Presiding officers.--The National Summit shall be
presided over equally by representatives of the executive and
legislative branches.
``(f) National Summit Administration.--
``(1) Administration.--In administering this section, the
Secretary shall--
``(A) request the cooperation and assistance of such other
Federal departments and agencies and other parties referred
to in subsection (b) as may be appropriate in the carrying
out of this section;
``(B) furnish all reasonable assistance to State agencies,
area agencies, and other appropriate organizations to enable
them to organize and conduct conferences in conjunction with
the National Summit;
``(C) make available for public comment a proposed agenda
for the National Summit that reflects to the greatest extent
possible the purposes for the National Summit set out in this
section;
[[Page H10545]]
``(D) prepare and make available background materials for
the use of participants in the National Summit that the
Secretary considers necessary; and
``(E) appoint and fix the pay of such additional personnel
as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this
section without regard to provisions of title 5, United
States Code, governing appointments in the competitive
service, and without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III
of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and
General Schedule pay rates.
``(2) Duties.--The Secretary shall, in carrying out the
responsibilities and functions of the Secretary under this
section, and as part of the National Summit, ensure that--
``(A) the National Summit shall be conducted in a manner
that ensures broad participation of Federal, State, and local
agencies and private organizations, professionals, and others
involved in retirement income savings and provides a strong
basis for assistance to be provided under paragraph (1)(B);
``(B) the agenda prepared under paragraph (1)(C) for the
National Summit is published in the Federal Register; and
``(C) the personnel appointed under paragraph (1)(E) shall
be fairly balanced in terms of points of views represented
and shall be appointed without regard to political
affiliation or previous partisan activities.
``(3) Nonapplication of faca.--The provisions of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not
apply to the National Summit.
``(g) Report.--The Secretary shall prepare a report
describing the activities of the National Summit and shall
submit the report to the President, the Speaker and Minority
Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority and
Minority Leaders of the Senate, and the chief executive
officers of the States not later than 90 days after the date
on which the National Summit is adjourned.
``(h) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
`State' means a State, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa,
and any other territory or possession of the United States.
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated
for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 1997, such
sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
``(2) Authorization to accept private contributions.--In
order to facilitate the National Summit as a public-private
partnership, the Secretary may accept private contributions,
in the form of money, supplies, or services, to defray the
costs of the National Summit.
``(j) Financial Obligation for Fiscal Year 1998.--The
financial obligation for the Department of Labor for fiscal
year 1998 shall not exceed the lesser of--
``(1) one-half of the costs of the National Summit; or
``(2) $250,000.
The private sector organization described in subsection (b)
and contracted with by the Secretary shall be obligated for
the balance of the cost of the National Summit.
``(k) Contracts.--The Secretary may enter into contracts to
carry out the Secretary's responsibilities under this
section. The Secretary shall enter into a contract on a sole-
source basis to ensure the timely completion of the National
Summit in fiscal year 1998.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents in section
1 of such Act, as amended by section 3 of this Act, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 516
the following new item:
``Sec. 517. National Summit on Retirement Savings.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Illinois [Mr. Fawell] and the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Payne]
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Fawell].
Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to join with my colleague,
the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Payne], the ranking Democrat on the
Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations, as well as many other
Democrats and Republicans across the political spectrum, in sponsoring
the SAVER Act. H.R. 1377 represents bipartisan legislation addressing a
critical national problem, the lack of individual retirement savings.
I do want to make special mention of the fact that the gentleman from
New Jersey [Mr. Payne] has been very cooperative. We have worked
together in good bipartisan fashion, and I do very much appreciate the
gentleman from New Jersey and the fine work that he has put in on this
legislation. Without the gentleman, there simply would not be any such
legislation.
The SAVER Act was initially passed by the House back in May. On
November 7, the Senate passed SAVER with minor modifications made to
secure the support of the Department of Labor. I would like to thank
Senate sponsor Senator Charles Grassley, the chairman of the Committee
on Aging, for his efforts in guiding this legislation through the other
chamber.
The SAVER Act is truly a bipartisan initiative, supported not only by
the Department of Labor, but also by a diverse group of organizations,
from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the American Association of
Retired Persons.
Mr. Speaker, America faces a ticking demographic time bomb that
requires increased retirement savings. The Savings are Vital to
Everyone's Retirement Act, or the SAVER Act, is the first step in
defusing the retirement time bomb. The SAVER Act initiates projects to
educate American workers about retirement savings and convenes a
national summit on retirement savings at the White House.
Through this bill, we facilitate a public-private partnership to
educate the public on this serious and underreported national problem.
Workers need to know the importance of saving for the future and of
saving as early in life as possible.
As a survey released this year by the Employee Benefit Research
Institute, known as EBRI, reveals, there is a lot of work to be done.
Less than one-third of Americans have even tried to calculate how much
they need to have saved by retirement. Furthermore, less than 20
percent are very confident they will be able to have enough money to
live comfortably throughout their retirement. The lack of adequate
retirement savings will only become a more pressing problem as the
baby-boomers begin to retire.
Far too few Americans, particularly the young, have either the
knowledge or the resources necessary to take advantage of the extensive
benefits offered by our retirement savings system. We know the old
adage that you feed someone for life by teaching them to fish. We need
to apply this principle to retirement savings.
The same EBRI survey found while only a quarter of workers express
confidence in their ability to map out a savings strategy, an
encouraging 50 percent said they would stick to a plan, if they only
had one.
We have to find ways to get the information and the skills out to the
workers of America to harness this latent energy. The SAVER Act directs
the Department of Labor to maintain an ongoing program of education and
outreach to the public through public service announcements, public
meetings, creation of educational materials, and establishment of a
site on the Internet.
The information to be made available will include a means for
individuals to calculate their estimated retirement savings needs, a
plain English description of the common types of retirement savings
arrangements currently available to both individuals and employers, and
an explanation for employers, hopefully in simple terms, of how to
establish different retirement savings arrangements for their workers.
The SAVER Act also convenes a national summit on retirement savings
at the White House, cohosted by the executive and the legislative
branches, to be held by July 15, 1998, and again in the year 2001, and
again in the year 2005. The national summit would advance the public's
knowledge and understanding of retirement savings and facilitate the
development of a broad-based public education program, identify the
barriers which hinder workers from setting aside adequate savings for
retirement and impede employers, especially small employers, from
assisting workers in accumulating retirement savings, and develop
specific recommendations for legislative, executive, and private sector
actions to promote retirement savings among American workers.
Mr. Speaker, the national summit would bring together experts in the
field of employee benefits and retirement savings, key leaders of
government, and interested parties from the private sector and the
general public. The delegates would be selected by the congressional
leadership and the President and would represent the diversity of
thought in the field without regard to their political affiliation.
The national summit would be a public-private partnership receiving
substantial funding from private sector contributions. I hope that the
SAVER Act can be a first step in a truly bipartisan effort to reverse
the long course of neglect of this vital issue and help American
workers better prepare for a comfortable and a secure retirement.
I urge my colleagues to vote for passage of the SAVER Act and vote to
help defuse the retirement time bomb.
[[Page H10546]]
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to speak to the
importance of the SAVER Act. I think it will provide a big first step
towards greater awareness about retirement security for all Americans.
I wish to commend Chairman Fawell for his effort to bring to the
attention of all of us this very important issue that affects millions
of Americans. This legislation has been skillfully moved through our
subcommittee and the full committee, and I appreciate the chairman for
his fine work on this very important piece of legislation.
I would also like to commend Senator John Breaux from Louisiana who
also worked on the other side of the House.
The retirement clock is running out, as has been mentioned by the
chairman, for millions of Americans and their families. After a
lifetime of hard work and contributing to and building our society,
millions of older Americans have retired and are not prepared for it.
We have always heard that the future belongs to those who are prepared
for it. Many of our older Americans are not and will not be. They
cannot afford to pay their bills.
While we have worked closely with the administration to make gains in
strengthening protection for plan participants in the last 4 years, we
still have miles to go in ensuring retirement security for the American
work force.
Half of all older Americans have incomes of less than $11,300. This
is because their incomes are primarily drawn from Social Security,
which on average pays $8,460 to retired workers. That is less than
today's minimum wage. Very little of their income comes from individual
savings. A very alarming picture painted by the statistics is that many
of the people we need to reach out to are women and minorities. As you
know, there is a direct correlation between pension adequacy and the
wages that workers receive. This is because many employers base their
pension benefits on the worker's wages.
This is true with respect to defined contributions and defined
benefit plans, including 401(k) plans. A very disturbing image forms
when we begin to think about the retirement security of low-wage
workers, particularly women and minorities. Many of these workers will
never receive a pension. We know that less than half of all working
women are covered by a pension. Those who are fortunate enough to be
covered by a plan can expect to receive lower benefits in retirement
because their wages were lower during the time they were working.
A recent study noted an alarming trend in private pension coverage
among African American and Latino people. This study suggests that many
minority workers will become strictly dependent on Social Security and
have a shrinking chance to enjoy financially comfortable retirements.
Moreover, the report shows that the percentage of blacks covered by
private pensions of all types plummeted from 45.1 percent in 1979 to
33.8 percent in 1993, only one-third of the population, while the
Latino coverage fell from 37.7 percent to 24.6 percent, less than 25
percent, during that same period.
I am hopeful the SAVER Act will be successful in reaching these
workers. Many of them live in my district, but let me point out, they
do not all live in my district, they live in your hometowns too. They
may even be your friends or members of your family. Millions of people
will not have any significant retirement income beyond Social Security,
which makes the Federal program even more critical, especially at a
time when its fiscal future is being questioned.
While the baby-boom generation is on the eve of retirement, this
statistical snapshot of the next generation of retirees is fueling the
current debate about Social Security. I believe the provisions in the
SAVER Act will provide more opportunities to better educate and prepare
Americans for their retirement. Today, Mr. Chairman, I hope that this
is the beginning of developing real solutions to problems that affect
real people.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Goodling], the chairman of the
Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
time.
(Mr. GOODLING asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to an address in a
bipartisan fashion the real demographic time bomb that faces the
American work force, and I thank the gentleman from Illinois, our
chairman [Mr. Fawell], and the gentleman from New Jersey, the ranking
member [Mr. Payne], for bringing this legislation before us.
Workers are not saving adequately for their retirement, and this
problem will only become more profound as the baby-boom generation
continues to age. It does not take a mathematician to recognize that in
the future retiring Americans will have to rely less on Social Security
and more on pensions and other personal savings.
{time} 2130
Diffusing the retirement time bomb requires immediate action.
Educating American workers is the critical first step. Savings are
vital to everyone's Retirement Act of 1997, the SAVER Act is that step.
The SAVER Act initiates projects to educate American workers about
retirement savings and convenes a national summit on retirement
savings. I am pleased to join with my colleagues from across the aisle,
both in this body and in the other body, to support this important
initiative.
I am also pleased by the support of organizations representing the
older Americans, the business community and the financial community
behind this public-private partnership.
Far too few workers, especially the young, understand the importance
of saving for retirement. Many small businesses are confused as to how
to set up some of the new retirement saving vehicles created by
Congress, or they do not know how to go about encouraging their workers
to take advantage of them.
The SAVER Act creates a statutory mandate for the Department of Labor
to help inform American workers about retirement savings, to give them
the tools they need to take advantage of the many existing benefits of
our retirement system. The SAVER Act also hopes to focus greater public
awareness on the lack of retirement savings by convening a national
summit at the White House. The summit would be a bipartisan undertaking
of both the executive and legislative branches and bring together
employee benefit experts from throughout the country.
The SAVER Act seeks to enlist business and other concerned private
groups as equal partners in this undertaking and looks to them to pick
up their share of the tab as well. Ultimately, we all have a stake in
the success of this project. Continuing to educate our workers is not
only crucial to Americans having successful careers, it is also vital
to ensuring they have secure retirements.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank
you to a longtime aide of mine who will be leaving the Committee on
Education and the Workforce in the next few weeks. Randy Johnson has
overseen, as our Workforce Policy Coordinator, all of the business,
labor and workplace issues that have come before our committee since we
have been in the majority. And for more than half a decade before that,
he served as our labor counsel while we were in the minority.
Randy has been interested in labor issues since law school, when he
researched the United Mine Workers contract negotiations. His ability
to understand the negotiation process has served as well. Having worked
in the Department of Labor before was a real plus for us. Both when we
were in the minority and now, Randy has known how to stay true to his
principles and yet accomplish our goals of reforming the American
workplace. He has a keen understanding of the issues, an astute sense
of timing, and a determination to achieve success. I and the rest of
our majority Members could not have asked for a better staff member to
lead the charge.
[[Page H10547]]
I will miss his quiet determination, his strong convictions to our
Republican principles, and his hours and hours of dedication to
advancing our agenda. We all wish him well and remind him he cannot
come up and try to influence members of the committee for 1 year.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from North
Dakota [Mr. Pomeroy].
Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois
[Mr. Fawell], the chairman, and the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr.
Payne], ranking member, for their work on this legislation. I am proud
to be its cosponsor, and I think that as we enact this bill, we will be
making a very positive contribution to what truly is one of our growing
national matters of urgency: Retirement savings.
We are embarking, as we know, on an important debate on Social
Security, but regardless of wherever that debate may take us, one thing
is crystal clear. We have to save more. We have got to save more. Our
savings rate is one-half of what it was in the post-World War II
through 1980 period of time. If we think about the worker to retiree
ratio, 42 workers per Social Security retiree in the 1940s, heading to
3 workers per retiree in 20 years, 2 workers per retiree in 30 years.
It is just so clear, we have to save more.
Add in longevity. Unlike the 1930s, when Social Security came on
line, now workers live, on average, 17 years longer in retirement than
they did at that time. We have to save more. We will not be able to
publicly fund our way out of this one. It is going to require a
significant measure of personal responsibility for us all, and that is
why this bill is so important.
A critical part of helping people achieve their goal of economic
security in retirement is getting them on track with a savings plan to
get them there, and let us face it. We can all use some help in that
regard.
Education is a critical part of helping people understand the steps
they must take now so that they have a secure retirement tomorrow. We
know that in the workplace where there are work-based retirement
savings plans and educational programs occurring in that place of
employment, people attend, they respond, and it improves their savings
program significantly. The problem is, less than half of all workers
have work-based retirement savings plan, a goal we must work on. But in
addition, we must, like this bill accomplishes, get the savings
programs out to those not necessarily learning about savings at their
workplace. This is going to advance retirement savings for everyone.
Charge the Labor Department to continue their good work. It will help
us reach those that are not learning about retirement savings in their
place of employment; it will charge the Labor Department to continue
the work they are already advancing in education relative to retirement
savings; it will convene the White House summits which will focus
national attention on this critical issue.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I again want to thank the ranking member and
the chairman. The chairman has indicated he will not be seeking
reelection. His contributions, as those of us who know, who have served
with him, will continue long after his presence is in this Chamber, and
I would like to think that passing his legislation tonight will put on
track an important course of education, leaving the chairman's imprint
on our very positive step forward in the goal of retirement savings.
Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I
thank the gentleman from North Dakota [Mr. Pomeroy] for his fine
comments and his contributions in the area of pensions.
I do want to say also, just briefly, the gentleman from Pennsylvania
[Mr. Goodling] mentioned Randy Johnson, who is actually seated right
behind me here. We have worked together for quite a number of years,
and this gentleman is in charge of the areas of labor law, which is
something that puts a lot of people to sleep. We need a good lawyer
with a good mind to keep track of all of the ins and outs of that area,
and Randy has done that dutifully, and then going over into health
care, the ERISA statute, which really puts people to sleep, and then
into the pension area of the ERISA law.
All of this is very, very vital stuff, and when we have the kind of
staff people like Randy Johnson, who, unfortunately, has been picked
off by a head hunter, so he will be around in the Washington area. I
think maybe after a year is over he probably is going to be coming back
and visiting us and saying some things. I believe it is not out of
order to say he is going with the National Chamber of Commerce, so we
will probably be seeing him around and we wish him nothing but the
very, very best. It was a great occasion, and I myself will be
retiring. I trust that I have made retirement plans that I can cover
those years of retirement.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Maryland [Mr. Cardin].
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, let me thank my friend the gentleman from
New Jersey [Mr. Payne] for yielding me this time.
I want to congratulate the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Fawell] and
the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Payne] for bringing forward this
bill. I think the title really says it all. The title: ``Savings Are
Vital to Everyone's Retirement.''
For two decades we have seen America see savings rates lag far behind
the industrial nations of this world. This is very troublesome to all
of us as we look at the economic growth of our Nation. In the last
couple of years we have seen an encouraging sign, and that is the
budget deficit of this country has gotten smaller, and the deficit was
one of the major problems contributing to the low savings rates of our
Nation. Low savings rates also present major problems for families
looking ahead to retirement.
In recent years, many of us in Congress have worked on a bipartisan
basis on creating new incentives to encourage Americans to save. I saw
my friend the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Portman] on the floor a little
bit earlier. He has worked on issues with me. We need to do more to
encourage retirement savings in this Nation. We have to reverse the
trend of less funds being put aside for retirement.
Those efforts have included major pension simplification legislation,
including the creation of simple accounts to help small businesses
create pension plans, and expansions of IRA accounts. While these
legislative initiatives have begun to show benefits in expanding
pension coverage and retirement savings, we must do more.
The backbone of our national retirement policy is the Social Security
system. But the Social Security system in the long term has significant
shortfalls in its funding. We must preserve the viability of Social
Security, while encouraging Americans to augment their retirement
savings outside of that program. The bill before us will help raise the
visibility of this critical issue.
Under Secretary Hermann and former Secretary Reich, the Department of
Labor has expanded its efforts to protect retirement savings of working
Americans and to increase public awareness of the need to make adequate
provisions for a secure retirement.
H.R. 1377 will strengthen those efforts by requiring a national
summit on retirement savings to be held at the White House, which will
provide the impetus for a full-blown national discussion on retirement
policies.
Again, I commend the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Fawell], and I
commend the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Payne]. This is important
legislation, and I encourage my colleagues to support it.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to
say that I would like to once again thank the chairman for this very
important legislation.
As a whole, Americans are motivated to set aside for their
retirement. However, they are uninformed and uneducated in many
instances about their options. Furthermore, many Americans nearing
retirement are worried about whether or not the benefits they have been
promised will be there when they retire. Corporate mergers and
downsizing to meet the bottom line by encouraging early retirement
among older workers may compromise
[[Page H10548]]
the integrity of these promised benefits. This is especially true among
minority and women workers. Improving awareness and education is a good
first step in reconciling the need of social insurance, providing
social protection with individual responsibility.
Again, I applaud the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Fawell] for his
leadership on this issue, and I look forward to working with him to
provide retirement security for all Americans and their families. I too
would like to wish him well in his retirement from this House for much
of the outstanding work that he has done, and I urge my colleagues to
support H.R. 1377, Savings Are Vital to Everyone's Retirement Act.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Lazio). All time has expired.
The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Illinois
[Mr. Fawell] that the House suspend the rules and concur in the Senate
amendment to the bill, H.R. 1377.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendment was
concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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