[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 35 (Thursday, March 18, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H1234]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PENSION FUNDING EQUITY ACT

  (Mr. FLAKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, when the savings and loan industry was in the 
depths of its problems in the 1980s, Congress created a statutory 
requirement for deficit reduction contributions to be made where these 
pensions were underfunded. This was renewed in 1987 and actually made 
more stringent.
  Recently, the House has considered H.R. 3108. In fact, it is in 
conference with the Senate at this time; and there are rumors by the 
Senate to actually grant waivers for these employment contributions to 
a couple of airlines and a couple of steel companies. To me, the only 
thing worse than a bailout of an industry is a bailout of certain 
segments or certain companies within an industry, and that is exactly 
what the Senate version of the bill purports to do.
  We should not be going this direction. The taxpayers will be put at 
risk here just like they were with the savings and loan industry, and 
we should have no part of it; nor should we have any part of actually 
having government pick winners and losers in the economy, saying that 
you are favored but you are not. That is far worse than actually 
bailing out an entire industry.
  I urge the House conferees to reject the Senate version and for all 
conferees to accede to the House version of the bill.

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