[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS RESEARCH INSTITUTE

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                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 3, 2003

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, the past few decades 
have posed some difficult challenges for America's workers and some 
hard choices for those who seek to guarantee them a brighter future. I 
can think of no area that is simultaneously as broadly important and 
increasingly complex as pension and health benefit issues. As Congress 
struggles with the challenge of ensuring the health and pension benefit 
promises made to tens of millions of workers and retirees, I want to 
thank the Employee Benefits Research Institute for its considerable 
contribution to providing education and information to members of 
Congress and the Nation. As EBRI marks its 25th anniversary, I want to 
thank them for helping us understand the issues and say that we all 
look forward to their counsel in the future.
  EBRI is one of the only organizations dedicated to gathering employee 
benefit information and presenting it to the public in a timely 
fashion. Regrettably, on a subject that affects almost every individual 
in the country, there is no government agency that collects and 
distributes information about workplace benefits. EBRI deserves our 
deepest commendation for consistently stepping into the gap and 
attempting to provide information that is critical to the decision-
making ability of public policymakers. EBRI's strength is that it is a 
non-advocacy organization so that legislators on both sides of the 
aisle can use its resources.
  America's pension system has changed a lot since ERISA was enacted 
and EBRI was created. Often workers don't fully understand the changes 
that can have a big impact on their retirement. Sometimes legislators 
fail to fully grasp the magnitude of the adjustments we're called onto 
make. Educating both groups is both a full-time job and a worthy goal.
  Because of EBRI's work, we know more than we otherwise would have. I 
hope they continue shedding light on workplace benefits in the decades 
ahead because I think that will improve the odds that legislators like 
us will be able to make enlightened important decisions that benefit 
working men and women.

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