[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 178 (Thursday, November 7, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6465-S6467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Barker House

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to 
talk about something positive that is happening in Ohio with the help 
of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  The Army Corps is involved with some civic-minded community 
volunteers in something that will help preserve our history in Ohio. It 
wouldn't be happening but for the vision of the head of the Army Corps, 
Mr. R.D. James, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. It 
is a good-news project regarding the preservation of an important piece 
of the history of the Northwest Territory and my home State of Ohio. It 
is called the Barker House. It is a historic home that dates back 
almost 200 years. It was built by the owner's father, who was a 
Revolutionary War officer and a famous early settler and pioneer 
architect in Ohio. A number of historic homes of his were built along 
the Ohio River, and this is one of them that is still left standing. 
Colonel Joseph Barker, Sr., was his name, and he is one of our most 
famous early pioneers in Ohio.
  The House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 
1979 for its historic significance. In fact, Joseph Barker, Sr., and 
the houses he built play an important role in a new, award-winning book 
by the great historian David McCullough, ``The Pioneers,'' and it tells 
the story of the Northwest Territory and the founding of Ohio in the 
wake of the Revolutionary War. In ``The Pioneers'' book, Colonel 
Barker's stately homes were an anomaly out on the frontier. His own 
home was described as ``a large, brick house in the Federal style, with 
a handsome front door, flanked by recessed side windows and an 
elliptical fanlight overhead. . . . [O]nce completed the whole house 
was painted white, and soon became, as intended, a `distinguished seat 
of hospitality.'''
  This also describes the historic Barker House we are trying to 
preserve.
  These houses brought a level of architectural refinement that stood 
in sharp contrast to the log cabins on the rugged landscape where these 
pioneers were settling.
  The Barker House is currently owned by the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers. It is owned by them because it sits right next to the Willow 
Island Locks and Dam on the Ohio River. The house was used as office 
space by the Corps back in the 1960s, and today, the house is still 
standing. It is vacant, in bad shape, and unsafe to enter, but it is 
savable.
  I visited this historic Barker House back in September of 2018. I 
learned then that the Corps was proposing to demolish the Barker House. 
They then considered a proposal to move it brick by brick to a new 
location off of Army Corps' land. Neither made sense.
  That is when I met Jack Haessly, who led a group--along with Wesley 
Clarke, Bill Reynolds, Bob Ferguson, and others--a local Barker House 
friends group who said they would be willing to raise the money to 
restore this home on its historic site overlooking the Ohio River. They 
wanted to make sure it would be accessible to visitors there and made 
into a museum.
  I immediately called the Secretary, Mr. R.D. James of the Army Corps, 
and

[[Page S6466]]

asked if he would reconsider the decision to demolish this historic 
home. After hearing the story of the house and the details of the 
group's plan to preserve it and after getting an assessment from the 
Army Corps, Mr. James agreed to reverse the Corps' decision and to work 
with us on preserving the home. He deserves great credit for that.
  Congressman Bill Johnson, who represents the area, has also been an 
excellent partner in pursuing these sensible solutions.
  Right now, we are working on developing legislation that I hope to 
introduce soon to convey the house and the surrounding land to the 
friends group. We have made a lot of progress so far. Just last week, 
the Corps completed drawings of the specific parcel proposed to be 
conveyed, which also includes the creation of an access road so that 
the house can be visited and enjoyed by the public. We appreciate the 
Ohio Department of Transportation and Director Jack Marchbanks for 
working with us on the road access. The road access issue was critical, 
and ODOT was very helpful. The Ohio State Historic Preservation Office 
has also jumped in and played a constructive role.
  This is an example of a true public-private partnership, made 
possible by Secretary James. I want to thank him, the Army Corps, his 
team, the Barker House friends group, the Ohio Historic Preservation 
Office, and ODOT. All of them are partnering with us to ensure that 
this historic structure remains standing so it can tell the story of 
our rich history for generations to come.


                                S. 1431

  Mr. President, I am on the Senate floor today to talk about the 
opportunity we have here in Congress to make substantial reforms to 
address an issue that keeps a lot of Americans up at night, and that is 
whether they are going to have enough money in their retirement.
  I chair the Finance subcommittee that handles retirement and pension 
issues, and I have worked to pass bipartisan legislation with then-
Congressman Ben Cardin, now-Senator Ben Cardin, over the years. That 
legislation has helped people save more in their IRAs and 401(k)s and 
other retirement plans, but we still have a long way to go. In fact, 
according to a recent study by Northwestern Mutual, two-thirds of 
Americans believe they will outlive their retirement savings. People 
are right to be worried.
  Right now, way too many workers don't have access to a retirement 
plan at all, and too many Americans who do have a plan are not saving 
enough. Fewer than half of the employees at businesses with fewer than 
50 workers have access to a plan, and only 34 percent of them 
participate. That is where the major problem is. These are workers at 
mom-and-pop shops, small manufacturers, and countless other employers 
who make up the backbone of our economy.
  We can and should do more to make sure these small business employees 
are set up for retirement so that they can find peace of mind in their 
retirement. What is more, only 22 percent of part-time workers today 
have access to a plan--only 22 percent. More Americans can have access 
to a retirement plan just by our making some simple changes in law.
  A lot of Americans that do have a plan haven't saved enough, so they 
are at risk of having their savings be inadequate for their increasing 
lifespans. People are living longer, so this is a bigger problem.
  Social Security is absolutely essential. It is great that that safety 
net is there. It is necessary to cushion the retirement incomes for 
Americans. But the average payout from Social Security is 1,400 bucks a 
month. Try living on that. It is tough. A lot of people have a hard 
time with that, so they need these extra retirement savings.
  The lack of adequate retirement savings is made worse by the fact 
that we have more and more baby boomers who are retiring, so we have a 
bigger group in this category. And people are living longer. That is a 
good thing, but it creates an additional challenge with regard to 
retirement savings.
  For all these reasons, we need to overhaul the laws governing the 
private retirement system to help more people get access to workplace 
savings plans, encourage savings to help our economy overall, and make 
sure people don't outlive their savings in their retirement.
  The good news is that we have that package before us right now here 
in the Senate. It would go a long way toward making these changes. It 
is called the SECURE Act, and it has already passed the House of 
Representatives 5\1/2\ months ago by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 
417 to 3--that is right, 417 to 3. That never happens around here. This 
is totally bipartisan. It is one of these issues where we would have an 
opportunity to pass it and then send it directly to the President for 
his signature, and he has said he would sign it. We are divided on so 
many issues in Washington today, but this is one where we have a rare 
chance for a truly bipartisan solution to a problem that is affecting 
people in every single State represented in this body.
  Today what was called a live UC was tried. It was an attempt to get a 
vote on the SECURE Act--this legislation I am talking about--with five 
amendments on each side. I support that, and I supported my colleagues 
today who came forward to offer that. The amendments they outlined as 
our five Republican amendments all make sense to me. Then the Democrats 
were told: You should offer five amendments also. You all pick them. 
Unfortunately, it was objected to by the other side. That didn't 
surprise me because for the past 5\1/2\ months, some of us have been 
trying to get this legislation done, and there are big concerns on both 
sides of the aisle, but we are at a point now where we know, having 
raised this live UC, that we continue to have this stalemate. After 
5\1/2\ months, I think it is time for us to move forward on these 
reforms.
  Again, I like the amendments that were proposed today. As an example, 
I agree that allowing 529 plans to be used for homeschooling expenses 
makes sense. It is a reform Congress should take up, but this 
underlying bill that almost every Republican in the House supported, 
even without this provision, is one we also ought to take up. As 
difficult as it is for us to give up on amendments on both sides, if 
that can't be done because it gets blocked, then let's go ahead and 
move the underlying legislation, the SECURE Act.
  It is a worthwhile piece of legislation. It helps in a category where 
we need help badly; that is, small businesses. They have an easier time 
setting up retirement plans under the SECURE Act because the bill 
increases tax credit for small businesses. In general, you get $500 now 
for starting a retirement plan. That would be raised to $5,000. That is 
a tenfold increase. Again, small businesses, where a major gap in 
retirement plans are found, say that would be a significant incentive 
for them to set up a retirement plan.
  Second, it provides an annual tax credit to small businesses that 
introduce automatic enrollment features into their plan. Small business 
employees will have to opt out of saving for retirement as opposed to 
opting in. These autoenrollment features are fantastic. The average 
participation in a 401(k) in a midsize business is about 75 percent of 
the employees. If it is autoenrollment, where you automatically enroll 
unless you opt out, it is about 95 percent. This makes a lot of sense 
to me. That is an innovative change in this legislation.
  Third, it streamlines a lot of the existing regulations associated 
with administering a plan so small business owners who already have a 
lot on their plates can have an easier time focusing on retirement for 
their employees rather than bureaucracy and redtape.
  Perhaps most important to me, the bill allows small businesses to 
participate in what is called open MEPs--open multiple employer defined 
contribution plans. These are plans that allow businesses--some of 
these small businesses we talked about earlier--even if they are not in 
the same industry, they can come together to work together to set up a 
joint plan for their employees. That becomes much more effective for 
small businesses because they can share the administrative costs and 
share some of the liability expenses. It has a lot of benefits for 
these small employers and will result in more people I represent 
getting a retirement plan.
  In all, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates this reform alone 
would lead to 700,000 new retirement accounts for small business 
workers who need access.

[[Page S6467]]

  In my experience, that security really works. I grew up in a small 
family business. My dad started his own business. When he had five 
employees and my mom was the bookkeeper, he said they were going to set 
up a retirement plan. It was called a profit-sharing plan at the time. 
It was before a 401(k). They had no profit the first few years, so it 
was a little awkward, but when they finally started making money, 
everybody had a stake. Everybody got a little bit in their retirement 
nest eggs. When 401(k)s came in, they immediately started a 401(k) plan 
as well.
  I meet people today whom I have known my entire life who turned a 
wrench their whole careers as a lift truck technician--a lift truck 
mechanic--who have a retirement savings plan now because of that. They 
have a nice nest egg of about $500,000 to $600,000 that they were able 
to accumulate. So I know this works. I know small businesses have the 
opportunity to do more for their workers if we help them more here in 
Washington. I am committed to trying to get this done.
  Another important part of the SECURE Act has to do with older 
Americans. It says we should raise the age limit that forces older 
American workers to start depleting and paying taxes on their 
retirement savings. Currently, at 70\1/2\ years old, you have to start 
taking money out of your retirement plan. You have to do that whether 
you are working or not. Many people at that age are still working. My 
dad was still working at 70\1/2\. It drove him crazy that he had to 
take money out while he was still working. He wanted to keep building 
it up. So in this legislation, we say let's expand that to age 72.
  Then, as important, the bill actually lifts the current prohibition 
on IRA contributions by people over 70\1/2\. That means people can make 
the choice if they want to keep investing in their retirement for as 
long as they see fit. Remember, somebody who makes it to 70\1/2\ is 
likely to live into his or her nineties. So there is still a lot of 
time in retirement where you need to have that funding. That kind of 
flexibility is how we allow people to manage their own retirement 
savings that makes sense.
  The SECURE Act is good for small businesses and good for older 
Americans, but the reforms don't end there. It has a number of other 
good provisions. In fact, one is particularly urgent. It reforms the 
pension nondiscrimination laws I authored alongside my friend Senator 
Ben Cardin. Our legislation is very simple. It says we have a glitch 
right now in current law. We introduced it as separate legislation 
earlier this year, but it has now been made part of the SECURE Act. It 
is a critical piece of legislation to pass because if it doesn't pass--
and pass soon, like by the end of this year--400,000-plus Americans are 
going to have their benefits frozen in their defined benefit plans. It 
will affect 400,000 people through no fault of their own.
  In recent years, many companies have transitioned from the 
traditional defined benefit plans--think of that as a pension plan--to 
a defined contribution plan like a 401(k). Some of them have elected to 
grandfather existing employees by closing down their traditional DB 
plans but allowing those who are there to continue to have the 
benefits. Unfortunately, what happened is, as they build up seniority, 
one of the rules in our current testing under 401(k) and profit-sharing 
plans and defined benefit plans has come into effect. Inadvertently, it 
has resulted in these plans not being able to continue to approve 
benefits. It wasn't meant to work that way, but it has for a lot of 
these people who are in these plans. As a result, again, 400,000 
autoworkers are at risk of losing their benefits through no fault of 
their own. Tens of thousands of other workers have already been 
affected by these flawed rules.
  We have to fix this. We tried to pass this by unanimous consent this 
fall. This provision has no objection on the Republican side or the 
Democratic side. Yet we were not able to get it done because some would 
like to make it remain as part of the SECURE Act and be sure the SECURE 
Act gets passed. The way to do this is let's pass the whole thing. The 
SECURE Act makes sense. This particular provision is urgent. Let's not 
wait. Do it now to help those 400,000 Americans representing States all 
over the United States who are represented in this Chamber.
  Let's pass the SECURE Act. It is a bill that does a lot to put us on 
the right path. Does it do everything? No.
  Senator Cardin and I introduced a comprehensive bill called the 
Retirement Security and Savings Act. We go further in a lot of these 
regards than we talked about today. That is a bill that requires more 
hearings and a markup and more consideration.
  In the meantime, let's do what we can. Let's provide more certainty, 
more flexibility, and more retirement savings. I am hopeful we can pass 
this broader legislation I have with Senator Cardin soon. In the 
meantime, let's take advantage of the chance right here in front of us. 
Let's be sure we boost the retirement security to the American people 
through the SECURE Act. I hope my colleagues will all join me in this, 
and we can pass this legislation as the House did--on a strong 
bipartisan basis--and get it to the President for his signature.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  (The remarks of Mr. Merkley pertaining to the introduction of S. 2817 
are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Braun). The Senator from Iowa.