Statement by Re. Sanders on Cash Balance Pension Plans

STATEMENT BY REP. SANDERS ON CASH BALANCE PENSION PLANS

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Miller Motion to Instruct and I commend the Gentleman from California for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, pension anxiety is sweeping this country. Millions of American workers are worried that the pensions they have today will not be there when they retire tomorrow.

And, with good reason. Unfortunately, over the past two decades, large corporation after large corporation have been breaking the retirement promises they made to their employees and that is wrong. Some companies are declaring bankruptcy so that they can break their retirement commitments. Other companies are freezing pension plans in order to slash the retirement benefits of older workers.

And, over 300 companies throughout this country have slashed the pensions of their employees by up to 50% through cash balance pension schemes.

Congress must tell corporate America in no uncertain terms that when they make a promise to workers about their pensions, they must keep that promise. That's what this Motion is all about.

Mr. Speaker, last December, the House passed a so-called pension reform bill that was hundreds of pages long. Included in that bill was an obscure provision to legalize age discrimination in cash balance plans prospectively. No floor amendments were allowed to strike this provision or offer any alternatives to it. Members were forced to vote up or down on the entire bill.

But, the Senate did the right thing. In its bill, they provided important protections for older workers who would be negatively impacted by cash balance schemes.

The Senate language is supported by the AARP, the AFL-CIO, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, the National Legislative Retirees Network and the Pension Rights Center.

Today, unlike last December, we have an opportunity to do the right thing for American workers. We can and should instruct the Conference Committee to adopt the Senate language on cash balance plans.

Mr. Speaker, there are some who support cash balance schemes. They argue that these plans benefit employees.

Well, a couple of years ago, I asked the Congressional Research Service a simple question: what would happen if Members of Congress had their pensions converted to cash balance? The CRS answered this question unambiguously: every single Member of Congress they studied would see their pensions slashed under cash balance plans. Some, like the Speaker of the House, would see their pensions slashed by nearly 70%.

Today, I would ask the opponents of the Miller Motion this question: if cash balance plans are so good for American workers, why not convert your own pensions into cash balance schemes? I asked this question a few years back in the Rules Committee, but the Republican leadership rejected my request to debate this issue on the floor.

If you don't like the CRS, what about the GAO? According to the non-partisan GAO, virtually ALL workers would lose up to 50% of their pension benefits under a cash balance conversion without the important protections included in the Senate bill.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I have offered three cash balance protection amendments on the floor and every time an overwhelming Majority of Members voted to support these amendments. In 2002, my amendment passed by 308-121. In 2003, my amendment passed 258-160, and in 2004 my amendment passed 237-162.

By supporting the Miller Motion today, we would be doing what we have been doing in the past: voting to protect the pensions of older workers.

I urge all of my colleagues to stand up for older workers. Support the Miller Motion to Instruct.

http://bernie.house.gov/documents/document.asp?issueNum=4844