[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 25, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6669-H6670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENSE OF HOUSE THAT CONGRESS SHOULD COMPLETE ACTION ON H.R. 3762, 
                      PENSION SECURITY ACT OF 2002

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 547, I call up 
the resolution (H. Res. 540) expressing the sense of the House of 
Representatives that Congress should complete action on H.R. 3762, the 
Pension Security Act of 2002, and ask for its immediate consideration 
in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.

                              H. Res. 540

       Workers with stronger pension protections and greater 
     access to professional investment advice;
       Whereas a bipartisan majority of the House of 
     Representatives passed H.R. 3762, the Pension Security Act of 
     2002, on April 11, 2002, by a vote of 255 to 163;
       Whereas the Pension Security Act of 2002 would provide 
     working Americans with more investment education and 
     information regarding their retirement plans, greater access 
     to professional investment advice, rights to diversified 
     pension plan assets, protections against corporate abuses and 
     mismanagement of pensions, and other reforms that would 
     increase pension coverage;
       Whereas the pension protections and reforms contained in 
     the Pension Security Act of 2002 would enhance the retirement 
     security of American workers; and
       Whereas the Senate has not passed the Pension Security Act 
     of 2002 or equivalent legislation: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of 
     Representatives that the Congress should complete action in 
     the 107th Congress on the Pension Security Act of 2002 and 
     present such legislation to the President for his signature 
     prior to adjournment so that needed pension protections and 
     reforms may be delivered to the American people.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 547, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the gentleman from California (Mr. 
George Miller), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman), and the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui) each will control 15 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on House Resolution 540.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, over the last year, thousands of hardworking and loyal 
Enron and WorldCom employees watched helplessly as their companies and 
their retirement portfolios collapsed. We have an obligation to provide 
workers with the tools to help them manage their retirement savings. 
Let us just put the facts on the table: the House has acted on 
bipartisan pension protections, but the Senate has not.
  Back in February, President Bush called on Congress to act in a 
bipartisan fashion to restore confidence in our Nation's pension and 
retirement security system. More than 160 days ago, the House did its 
part by passing a comprehensive pension protection bill that protects 
workers from losing their retirement savings in Enron-style corporate 
meltdowns. Today we wait.
  One thing is very clear: worker retirement savings remain vulnerable 
to corporate meltdowns today, and it should not take another Enron or 
WorldCom for Congress to act on bipartisan pension protection that 
would give workers the tools they need to protect and expand their 
retirement savings.
  That is exactly why we passed the Bipartisan Pension Security Act in 
April, more than 160 days ago. It takes a balanced approach by 
expanding worker access to investment advice and includes new 
safeguards to help workers preserve and enhance their retirement 
security, such as giving employees new freedoms to diversify their 
portfolios. However, it also insists on greater accountability from 
senior company insiders.
  There are several pension provisions that the Senate has not acted 
on. Enron barred workers from selling company stock until age 50; the 
Pension Security Act gives workers new freedom to sell their company 
stock within 3 years. In addition, it requires companies to give 
workers quarterly benefit statements that include information about 
accounts, including the value of their assets, their right to 
diversify, and the importance of maintaining a diverse portfolio. The 
benefits of diversification will help workers better plan and save for 
their future over the long term.
  The bill also empowers workers to hold company insiders accountable 
for abuses by clarifying that companies are responsible for workers' 
savings during blackout periods when workers cannot make changes to 
their 401(k)s. Under the Pension Security Act, as under current law, 
workers can sue company pension officials if they violate their 
fiduciary duty to act solely in the interests of 401(k) participants.
  As we all know, defined contribution 401(k)-type accounts have become 
a primary vehicle for retirement savings. Yet, today, the vast majority 
of American workers receive no investment advice on how best to 
structure their 401(k) retirement plans; and most cannot afford to pay 
for it on their own like company insiders can. It is time to fix these 
outdated Federal rules that discourage employers from giving workers 
access to professional investment advice.
  Like most U.S. companies, Enron and WorldCom did not provide their 
workers with access to this type of investment advice. The investment 
guidance would have alerted these workers to the need to diversify 
their accounts, which would have enabled many to preserve their 
retirement savings. The Pension Security Act changes these outdated 
rules and encourages employers to provide their workers with access to 
this high-quality investment advice.
  We need to give investors more choices and more information to choose 
wisely, so they are better able to navigate their way through volatile 
markets and maximize the potential of their hard-earned and hard-saved 
retirement savings. Workers must also be fully protected and fully 
prepared with the tools they need to protect and enhance their 
retirement savings.
  The Committee on Education and the Workforce, along with my 
colleagues from the Committee on Ways and Means, have been engaged on 
the issue of pension reform for several years now, looking at ways to 
expand worker access to high-quality investment advice and encourage 
employers to sponsor retirement plans for their workers.
  As our committees have been doing hearings to specifically address 
the Enron collapse, we did so with a firm commitment to identify 
further reforms that promote security, education, and freedom for 
employees who saved all their lives for a secure retirement. Congress 
should move decisively to restore worker confidence in the Nation's 
retirement security and pension system, and the bill before us will 
accomplish those goals.
  Unfortunately, instead of gathering the President's signature, the 
Pension Security Act has been gathering dust. The Senate has not acted 
on any pension protection bill. If we are truly concerned about 
protecting the pensions of American workers, the 107th Congress will 
complete action on this vital issue and send President Bush a 
bipartisan pension security bill that he can sign into law.

[[Page H6670]]

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to 
the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez), a member of the 
committee.
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Boehner), who just spoke on the other side of the aisle, realizes that 
the constituents in his State have lost $8.27 billion of their hard-
earned nest egg due to a poor economy, corporate scandal, and weak 
pension laws. That is why we need to do something about these pension 
laws.
  By now, all Americans have been affected in some way by the fallout 
from the collapse of large corporations like Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco. 
Executives have escaped troubled companies with millions of dollars in 
compensation, while American workers have lost over $175 billion in 
their 401(k) plans. Workers in my own State of California alone have 
lost more than $18 billion in their 401(k) savings plans.
  As a legislative body, we have begun to examine ways to protect 
American families from future loss through the Pension Security Act, 
but among the many issues in this bill that we do not address is the 
lack of employee representation on pension boards. In its current form, 
pension boards have the potential to continue the cronyism that got us 
into the dilemma that we are in now.
  In the case of Enron, many of the pension board trustees were high-
ranking executives whose corporate marching orders did not represent 
the best interests of the workers they were appointed to protect. The 
Rangel-Miller substitute to the Pension Security Act would have given 
employees a voice at the table, where decisions about their companies' 
pension plans and offerings are made.
  Employee representation on pension boards has already been 
successful, even in my own State of California, where we have the 
California Public Employee Retirement System, or PERS. We require six 
of the 13 members of that board to be elected by active and retired 
workers of that system.
  Giving workers a real voice and real choice means ensuring active 
participation and overall plan management. Workers bear the financial 
risk in 401(k)s. They deserve to get pension people on the board 
representing them.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering), the author of the 
resolution before us.
  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Boehner) for his leadership on pension reform and thank both him and 
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) for all they have done. I am 
pleased to sponsor the resolution before us today expressing the sense 
of the House of Representatives that Congress should complete action on 
H.R. 3762, the Pension Security Act of 2002.
  Mr. Speaker, due to gross irresponsibility, corruption, and financial 
mismanagement, several of our country's most noted corporations have 
collapsed. Accordingly, tens of thousands of employees who held their 
retirement accounts in these companies have lost everything. Plans made 
for retirement vanished, hopes and dreams for the future disappeared, 
and savings to send children to college are gone, all because of 
improper and fraudulent actions of a handful of corporate executives 
who took advantage of this system.
  We know all too well in my home State of Mississippi the cost and the 
consequence and the hurt and the pain and the loss when this happens. 
The leadership of this House, Republicans and Democrats on a bipartisan 
basis, took action to prevent further such abuses. We passed the 
Pension Security Act in April to protect the pensions of American 
workers from corporate wrongdoing while restoring worker confidence in 
our country's pension system.

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