[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23525-23526]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



       RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR'S IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2001

  Mr. REID. That we have found yet.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Railroad 
Retirement and Survivor's Improvement Act of 2001. As a Senator from 
Wyoming, I represent a State that bears the undeniable mark of the 
railroads. Many of the towns across the southern corridor of my State 
were established on the sites of old railroad shanty towns. These 
shanty towns were constructed to house the workers that built the 
railroads. The railroad workers brought diversity to Wyoming. Many of 
my constituents with Chinese, Irish and Italian heritages call Wyoming 
home because their ancestors moved there with the railroad.
  The railroad is still an integral part of Wyoming today. It 
transports one of our greatest energy resources, low-sulfur coal, to 
States that lack our power supply. And today's railroad workers are 
still an important part of the Wyoming population. I support this bill 
because I support providing the survivors of railroad employees with 
the benefits they require to live out their days in my State and other 
States. I support this bill for another reason; it is a viable option 
to provide solvency to the railroad retirement fund and increase

[[Page 23526]]

retirement benefits and while lowering employer taxes.
  These two results may sound mutually exclusive, but I assure you that 
they are not. The bill authorizes the newly created Railroad Retirement 
Trust Fund to invest the current Railroad Retirement Account in 
securities, including stocks and bonds. Even a conservative estimate 
places the rate of return on these investments as greater than the 
current rate of return in government accounts. This is the mechanism 
that allows retirement benefits to increase while taxes decrease.
  As an accountant, I refrained from sponsoring the bill until I 
reviewed the actuarial report. After examining the report, I determined 
that the Railroad Retirement Trust Fund would remain well-capitalized 
and able to pay benefits under this legislation far into the future. 
The actuarial report indicated that this would occur even during 
mediocre economic conditions.
  This bill would directly benefit Wyoming railroaders and their 
spouses by allowing 100 percent benefits for survivors of eligible 
retirees. It would lower the retirement age from 62 to 60 years for 
employees that have worked at least 30 years for the railroad. Some of 
my colleagues have asked why we should lower the railroad retirement 
age when the Social Security retirement age is increasing from 65 to 
67. It is important to make a distinction between Tier I and Tier II 
benefits in this plan. Tier I benefits are comparable to Social 
Security benefits, and they do not start paying until the equivalent 
Social Security benefits are payed. Currently, that is at age 65. Tier 
II benefits, which are funded by taxes to the railroad employers and 
employees, pay the early retirement benefits for eligible workers. This 
is very similar to the ``bridge plan'' offered by private pension 
plans. This is important because railroading is a physically rigorous 
profession that ages a body prematurely and is still considered 
hazardous.
  This legislation includes an automatic tax trigger that initiates an 
increase or decrease of the employer's taxes if the trust fund's amount 
moves outside of preset barriers. The barriers would ensure that a 
cushion of 4 to 6 years' worth of benefits payable remain in the 
account. A number of my colleagues have been presenting graphs that 
show benefit levels falling and employer taxes increasing 20 years 
after the program is initiated. I do not dispute this. In fact, it 
shows the fund's ability to manage itself and respond to decreases in 
its cushion.
  As a Wyoming Senator and an accountant, I support the Railroad 
Retirement and Survivor's Improvement Act. I support it as a 
responsible way to manage the funds entrusted to us by the railroad 
workers. I support it as a way to fully care for the individuals that 
have contributed so much to our nation's infrastructure. I ask that my 
colleagues do the same and pass this bill.

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