[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 76 (Thursday, May 10, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE PENSION CRISIS

  (Mrs. DINGELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss the pension crisis 
facing American workers and businesses across the country and the 
urgent need for Congress to act.
  Men and women in my home State of Michigan and across the country 
worked a lifetime to retire with the dignity and security promised by 
their pensions. They earned their retirement with blood, sweat, tears, 
and many sacrifices along the way. They played by the rules, they put 
money into their pension, and now they are scared to death about how 
and what they will live on. They are worried about whether they will 
have a safe and secure retirement.
  A few months ago, we created the Joint Select Committee on the 
Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans with the goal of coming up with 
a bipartisan solution to the pension crisis by year's end. This is an 
urgent task because, if we do not act this year, the major 
multiemployer plans will start going under, and it could drag the 
entire economy down with it. Not only would we face staggering benefit 
cuts for retirees, but it will mean less money flowing in local 
economies and more people relying on the social safety net for support. 
It could be the perfect storm.

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