[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 54 (Thursday, April 28, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE PENSION PRESERVATION AND SAVINGS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 28, 2005

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I have greatly enjoyed working with my good 
friend from Ohio, Representative Rob Portman, on pension legislation 
for almost a decade. We have gotten good, bipartisan--even 
nonpartisan--legislation passed into law that has helped, and will 
continue to help, all Americans save for a better future.
  I am very happy with the President's choice to promote (or at least 
move) Rob to U.S. Trade Representative, where I know he will provide an 
intelligent, thoughtful voice on trade. I look forward to working with 
him in his new capacity to provide a level playing field for U.S. 
workers and freer international markets for U.S. goods.
  Today we introduce legislation that represents our progress on 
creating the next generation of Portman/Cardin pension legislation. 
These bills demonstrate the progress we have made and the goals we 
would like to pursue. I look forward to continuing this process that 
Congressman Portman and I have started as I continue to serve here in 
the U.S. House of Representatives.
  The bills we introduce today include a refundable, permanent savers' 
credit to give lower-income and younger workers more money to work with 
in saving for their future. We include incentives for employers to 
provide automatic enrollment in retirement plans to make saving easier 
for younger workers. We include incentives for choosing lifetime 
annuitant retirement, to ensure that retirement savings last a 
lifetime. This legislation makes permanent all of the pension 
improvements we made in 2001, including the availability of catch-up 
contributions, increased contribution limits, and increased portability 
of retirement savings.
  The major difference between the two bills filed today is that the 
legislation that I have authored does not include increases to the 
income caps for Roth IRAs.
  Once the Joint Tax Committee has scored this legislation, I intend to 
work with my colleagues to offer revenue offsets to mitigate any effect 
the enactment of this legislation could have on our budget deficit.
  I want to thank my friend, Rob, for being such a good, steadfast 
partner in helping Americans to plan for their futures. His commitment, 
intelligence, and willingness to put aside politics to create the best 
policy have been a credit to him and have made a difference in the 
lives of countless Americans.

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