[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15833]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        COMPREHENSIVE RETIREMENT SECURITY AND PENSION REFORM ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 19, 2000

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Democratic bill. 
While I will support the underlying legislation, and I intend to 
support it, I think we could build on this good bill and make it 
better. We should be doing more to provide a secure retirement for low 
and middle income workers.
  The Democratic substitute helps low and middle income workers by 
establishing Retirement Savings Accounts. RSAs would provide a 
refundable tax credit to low and middle income workers of up to 50 
percent of the annual contributions made to a traditional IRA, or an 
employer-sponsored pension plan, such as a 401(k) plan.
  RSAs would make a real difference in the lives of workers who are 
struggling to build some retirement savings, but who too often find 
themselves falling behind. By providing a maximum credit of $1,000 for 
the lowest income working Americans, we can help ensure that each and 
every American can begin building a nest egg that will supplement their 
Social Security benefits in their retirement years.
  These are families that are struggling day to day. They deserve a 
little extra help in building retirement security. One recent study by 
the Consumer Federation of America concluded that only 44 percent of 
households will accumulate adequate retirement savings. The current 
savings rate in America is only 3.8 percent. That is not a prescription 
for retirement security for all Americans.
  The Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act takes an important 
step toward encouraging saving by increasing the limit on contributions 
to deductible IRAs from $2,000 to $5,000 by 2003. This applies for both 
traditional and Roth IRAs. When you consider that the original limit 
when we created IRAs in 1974 was $1,500, you can see why the limits 
need to be increased. This will make a real difference and help 
families build retirement savings.
  But in and of itself, increasing the limit does not address the need 
of millions of Americans to save more. According to the Treasury 
Department, only seven percent of eligible taxpayers made any 
contribution to an IRA in 1995. Furthermore, only four percent of 
taxpayers who were eligible to make any contribution made the maximum 
one.
  People are not failing contributing to IRA because the limits are too 
low. They are not contributing because they do not have the wherewithal 
to contribute. We should increase the limits, but we should also add an 
RSA provision to give low income workers the benefits of an IRA and 
allow them to build some retirement savings.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Democratic substitute. I 
recognize the bipartisan work that has gone into developing the 
legislation before us today. This bill could be improved and we can do 
it in a bipartisan way. Support the Democratic substitute.

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