[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 32 (Thursday, February 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            INTRODUCTION OF THE PENSION SECURITY ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN A. BOEHNER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 27, 2003

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I am joined today by many of my colleagues 
in introducing the Pension Security Act. One year ago, President Bush 
sent a clear message to Congress that he is committed to preserving 
American workers' pensions by calling for new safeguards to help 
workers preserve and enhance their retirement savings. The House 
responded to the President's call and passed the Pension Security Act 
on April 11, 2002 with strong bipartisan support. Unfortunately, the 
Senate did not act on the legislation before adjournment. I am pleased 
to reintroduce his proposal today.
  One of the tragic realities of the corporate scandals of last year is 
that it rattled the confidence of American workers in the country's 
pension system--a system that by and large has served employees and 
their families well. A Pew Research Poll released on February 21, 2002 
indicated that 77 percent of Americans believed the Enron case was an 
important issue, and 47 percent of them believed the worst thing about 
the Enron case by far was the employees had lost their retirement 
funds.
  Even more tragic is the possibility that much of it could have been 
avoided. At least some of Enron's workers might have been able to 
preserve their nest eggs if Washington had taken some basic steps to 
update our nation's pension laws. We should not have to wait for 
another Enron or WorldCom before providing workers with new protections 
that can help them enhance and protect their retirement security.
  As more and more employers provide 401(k) plans to their workers, 
rank-and-file employees are shouldering more of the risk of their 
investment. Unfortunately these employees rarely have the time or 
knowledge to actively manage these investments and most have no access 
to quality investment advice through their employer. Millions of 
employees who have seen their 401(k) balances dwindle might have been 
able to preserve their retirement savings if they'd had access to a 
qualified adviser who would have warned them in advance that they 
needed to diversify. The Pension Security Act would fix outdated 
federal laws and allow employers to provide their workers with high-
quality, professional investment advice as an employee benefit, but 
also includes key safeguards to protect the interests of workers and 
investors.
  That is why today, my collegue Sam Johnson (R-TX), chairman of the 
Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee, and I are re-introducing the 
President's proposal on behalf of America's workers. Workers must be 
fully protected and fully prepared with the tools they need to protect 
and enhance their retirement savings.
  Specifically, the Pension Security Act includes new measures that 
give employees the freedom to diversify their portfolio and would 
provide them better information about their pensions. Under the bill, 
employees may sell company stocks and diversify into other investment 
options after they have worked for their employer for three 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.
  In addition, the Pension Security Act includes the provisions of the 
Retirement Security Advice Act (H.R. 2269), which passed the House in 
November 2001 with a large bipartisan vote. Current law continues to 
needlessly deny rank-and-file workers access to quality investment 
advisers to help them make sound investment decisions. The Pension 
Security Act encourages employers to make investment advice available 
to their employees and allows qualified financial advisors to offer 
investment advice only if they agree to act solely in the interests of 
the workers they advise. The Senate failed to act on this legislation 
prior to adjournment, though it passed the House with the support of 64 
Democrats.
  Lastly, the bill clarifies that companies have a fiduciary 
responsibility for workers' investments during a blackout period. Under 
current law, employers are not responsible for the results of workers' 
investment decisions. This ``safe harbor'' from liability does not 
apply during a blackout period. Under the Pension Security Act, 
employers will be responsible for the consequences of the workers' 
inability to control their investments if they violate their fiduciary 
in implementing or administering blackout periods.
  Congress has taken some positive steps in the recent past to update 
our nation's pension laws, and this committee has been central to those 
efforts. Last year, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley bill regarding 
corporate accountability, which incorporated two of the provisions in 
the Pension Security Act dealing with notice and trading during 
blackout periods. The House also passed the Pension Security Act last 
year by a margin of 255-163, with the strong bipartisan support of 46 
Democrats. We also passed the landmark reforms authored by my friend 
and colleague, Representative Rob Portman (R-OH), that gave workers 
more pension portability, faster vesting, and a host of other needed 
changes. We passed the Retirement Security Advice Act to give rank-and-
file workers the same access to professional investment advice that 
wealthy executives have. But in spite of these efforts, a lot of work 
still lies ahead. We need to pass the remainder of the President's plan 
this year.
  I am optimistic that common ground can be reached with Democrats 
because there is bipartisan support in Congress for the reforms I have 
just outlined. The nation's private pension system is essential to the 
security of American workers, retirees, and their families. Congress 
should move decisively to restore worker confidence in the nation's 
retirement security and pension system, and this reform proposal will 
do just that. I urge my colleagues to respond to the needs of America's 
workers by supporting the Pension Security Act.

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