[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 46 (Thursday, March 15, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1616-H1617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PUTTING PENSIONS BACK ON SOLID GROUND

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, many pension plans across America are 
on the brink of failure and threatened by massive cuts. If nothing is 
done, 200 multiemployer plans are projected to fail, many within the 
next 10 years, and the impacts will be felt by Americans in every State 
in our country.
  Cuts to these pensions would be economically devastating for 1.5 
million people who have earned their livings as carpenters, truck 
drivers, iron and steel workers, bricklayers, and painters.
  They paid into these plans. After a lifetime of hard work, they 
deserve to retire with dignity and peace of mind.

[[Page H1617]]

  If these plans fail, taxpayers could have to pay billions of dollars 
if the Federal Government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation fails.
  That is why Democrats have proposed A Better Deal to save our 
pensions that provides financing to put failing pension plans back on 
solid ground to ensure that they can meet their commitments to retirees 
today and workers for decades to come, prevents a single dollar of cuts 
to benefits retirees have earned, and it puts safeguards in place so 
that pension plans remain strong in order to be there for today's 
workers when they retire.
  We need to bring these proposals to the floor so we can work together 
to protect the pensions that American workers have earned.

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