[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 105 (Wednesday, August 2, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1625]]


                     PENSION PROTECTION ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               SPEECH OF

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2006

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I support final passage of 
this pension legislation because we must do something today to protect 
working families so that the pension promises that were made to them 
are honored. I am proud today to stand with the employees and groups 
who are in support of this legislation, including the Affliated Unions 
of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, 
International Association of Machinists, UNITE/HERE, the United 
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, and many others. And, 
I join with all of my Republican and Democratic colleagues from the 
Minnesota delegation in broad bipartisan support for this bill.
  Without this legislation, Northwest Airlines, a major Minnesota-based 
employer and key player in the economic vitality of the region, will 
not be able to come out of bankruptcy with its pension plans intact. I 
support this legislation because it will help to ensure Northwest 
Airlines keeps flying and that their employees can keep working and 
ensure that their pensions are funded.
  This bill is not perfect. In addition to much needed relief for 
airline employees, this bill includes provisions that will make it 
easier for working families to save for their retirements by 
encouraging automatic enrollment in retirement savings. It is critical 
that families are supported in their efforts to create a strong 
foundation of savings for their futures.
  Working men and women have waited far too long for Congress to pass 
legislation to protect pension benefits and to honor the promise of 
pensions. Pension legislation should have been done many months ago. 
This Congress's failure to act in a more timely way will potentially 
make worse current and future employer bankruptcies and will impact the 
strength of all retirement benefits. It is shameful that this 
Republican Congress has put partisan politics ahead of the well-being 
of working men and women and those who have already retired.
  I am concerned that this pension bill before us today has been 
introduced with no notice and there has been no opportunity for Members 
to review the provisions. Instead of bringing forward the bill that 
Congress has been working on now for more than a year, House 
Republicans have brought this bill forward.
  It is outrageous that House Democrats were excluded in the conference 
committee negotiations between the House and the Senate. After missing 
three deadlines to complete their work, House Republicans, instead, 
were more interested in thinking of ways to attach their extreme tax 
cuts for America's wealthiest onto what should have been clean, common 
sense, bipartisan legislation. Their tactics were so extreme that their 
colleagues in the Senate were unwilling to go along with it. So, here 
we are now at the eleventh hour doing what we can to salvage pension 
legislation.
  Today, I wish I were rising to support passage of a bill that will 
guarantee quick action to save the pensions of millions of workers, but 
instead, once again, partisan politics will slow down the much needed 
action on pension reform. Even with House passage of the bill, we can't 
guarantee anything to America's workers because this legislation was 
taken from the conference committee and now it must pass the Senate 
with no changes in order for it to move to the President's desk for his 
approval. If the Senate wants to change anything in the bill, American 
workers will have to continue to wait for Congress to act.
  I do share some of the concerns expressed by my colleagues. There are 
some missed opportunities--including the failure to address executive 
compensation and provisions concerning the investment advice for those 
who have 401(K) plans and IRAS. The investment advice exemptions in the 
bill do not adequately protect against conflicted investment advice.
  Despite some legitimate reservations voiced by groups I respect, this 
bill contains good provisions--important provisions that must be passed 
now so that employers can keep the pension promises made to their 
employees.

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