[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11361]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       PENSION REFORM LEGISLATION

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, today the House will 
debate H.R. 1000, the Pension Security Act, and the bill has an 
appropriate number because it will make employees 1,000 times worse off 
than they are today.
  We need real pension reform that protects the pensions of all the 
workers and gives more protections to employees with 401(k) accounts. 
Real pension reform must include independent investment advice for 
401(k) investors, the ability to diversify company-matched stocks 
within a year, and a voice for employees on pension boards.
  Real pension reform must also include language that would require 
companies that are converting to cash balance plans to ensure that 
older workers receive the same amount of benefits they would have 
received under their existing defined benefit plan.
  As the President has said, what is good for the captain is good for 
the crew. The bill as it is currently written allows executives to sell 
off their stock while the ship is sinking, while the workers see their 
retirement savings disappear.
  I urge my colleagues to vote against the pension insecurity act.

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