[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      RETIREMENT SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

  (Mr. NEAL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation to expand 
and improve pension coverage for low- and moderate-income workers.
  My legislation will provide an incentive for these workers to 
participate in the current pension system and to hopefully stay in the 
system once the benefits of compounded interest can be clearly seen. 
For those who believe that we must really do something to encourage 
savings, this is an ideal piece of legislation.
  This bill will allow individuals to receive up to a 50 percent tax 
credit on voluntary contributions to an individual retirement account 
or an employer-sponsored pension plan. The maximum credit would be 
$1,000 on a $2,000 contribution and would be refundable so that this 
incentive to save would be attractive to some who otherwise might not 
be in a pension system due to low incomes.
  The bill also allows small businesses to receive two tax credits, one 
for start-up administrative costs associated with a new pension plan 
and another for contributions made to a pension plan for non-highly-
compensated employees covered under the plan.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe this bill would make significant progress in 
encouraging employees to participate in a pension system and, most 
importantly, to keep them participating. I hope this year we will move 
this legislation and attach it to any piece of major pension 
legislation that moves or sails through this Congress.

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