[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 22 (Friday, February 11, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             INTRODUCING THE RETIREMENT SAVINGS ACT OF 2011

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                           HON. PAUL C. BROUN

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 11, 2011

  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduced the Retirement 
Savings Access Act of 2011. This legislation would allow financially 
struggling Americans access to their retirement dollars without 
penalty.
  As the economic downturn continues, most Americans who have fallen on 
hard times are not looking for the Federal Government to bail them out. 
Instead, they are simply asking for the government to get off their 
backs.
  Currently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) levies a 10% penalty on 
all early withdrawals from Investment Retirement Accounts (IRAs), 
meaning money that is taken out of an account before a beneficiary 
turns 59\1/2\ years old. This provision encourages saving for 
retirement and planning for the future, but it is a menacing tax to 
levy on people who are in dire financial straits, such as the 
unemployed.
  This legislation would exempt individuals who have already exhausted 
the standard 26 weeks of unemployment benefits from the tax penalty 
they would otherwise normally incur for a withdrawal from their 
retirement accounts before they reach 59\1/2\ years of age.
  We have bailed out Wall Street financial institutions and propped up 
the ailing automotive sector. But it is our constituents who are 
hurting the most, and this legislation would help them access their own 
money without a government penalty for doing so.

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