[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 141 (Tuesday, September 29, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY IN EXTENDING SOCIAL 
                 SECURITY TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 29, 2015

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, today I introduced a bill that would 
provide flexibility to the Government of Guam in extending Social 
Security to local government employees. This bill provides the 
Government of Guam with the authority to determine employees who would 
participate in the Social Security program and it would help to address 
the significant shortfalls that many of GovGuam's employees may face 
when they retire from government service.
  The retirement option currently provided to GovGuam employees is 
unsustainable and will leave many without sufficient means to care for 
themselves when they retire. Guam's public auditor has reported that 
the average government employee has about $40,000 in their retirement 
account and would not have enough money to support basic needs come 
their retirement age.
  Local leaders have proposed reforming the retirement plan offered to 
GovGuam employees to one that is a hybrid of federal Social Security 
and local defined benefit plan. I believe that the proposal to extend 
Social Security to GovGuam employees, while at the same time revamping 
the local retirement system, would be the best course of action moving 
forward and would provide thousands of GovGuam employees with the 
resources needed to have a comfortable quality of life during their 
retirement.
  Extending Social Security to GovGuam employees would be consistent 
with existing federal authority and it would be similar to an option 
exercised by the District of Columbia in extending Social Security to 
Washington, D.C. government employees. However Guam policymakers have 
expressed several concerns with the current federal law that requires 
it to extend Social Security to all employees. Specifically, the way 
the law currently reads, if GovGuam decides to extend Social Security 
to employees, it must do so for all employees regardless of their time 
of service or ability to benefit from the system when they retire. They 
are concerned that that if GovGuam exercised this option, thousands of 
GovGuam employees who already have years of government service, would 
not be able to contribute enough calendar quarters to qualify for 
Social Security. In essence, these employees would be forced to pay 
into the system but would not be able to receive any benefits when they 
retire.
  This would cause a significant financial burden on the employees as 
well as Guam's local treasury, and I believe that flexibility should be 
extended to GovGuam to ensure that employees who pay into the system 
can benefit from it upon their retirement. The bill that I introduced 
today would solve this problem by leaving it to Guam lawmakers to 
decide how the term ``initially hired'' is defined. It is my 
understanding that the Guam Legislature intends to extend Social 
Security to employees who would be able to fulfill the Social 
Security's requirement that beneficiaries must contribute 40 calendar 
quarters into the system before they are eligible for the program. The 
Legislature is actively considering several options that on the payment 
and funding source that will be used to provide for any upfront costs 
as well as the employer contributions for GovGuam employees. Further, I 
have coordinated the development of this language with the Social 
Security Administration to ensure that it addresses the appropriate fix 
in statute that is needed to fully execute the local law should it be 
enacted.
  I hope that my colleagues will support this bill and allow government 
employees in Guam to contribute into and benefit from Social Security, 
just as most government employees and all private sector employees 
throughout the country already do. I look forward to working with my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance this legislation.

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