Date: 2005-06-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman very much for participating in this. I would like. before I recognize the gentleman from New York . to read one last letter that we have here tonight. and I will read others in the coming days. from Ann Clegg of San Francisco. California: "I retired as a flight attendant from United Airlines in 2002 after 37 years of service. I was promised a pension and quit at age 58 after carefully considering the money I would live on. and my pension was a big part of that. Now. with the threat of the reduction of my pension. obviously. my standard of living will be greatly reduced. I ask you. if there is anything good. right. and honest in this country. why is this happening? I worked and believed a promise that should be upheld by my company and the government. I would not have retired early had I known that United Airlines would be allowed to renege on its promise. This is wrong and shameful. Please help." The point is. again. these people upheld their end of the promise. The promise was between the employees and the company. the handshake was between the employees and the company. and that is why these people are so devastated when the company made the decision to go into bankruptcy and to discharge these pension obligations and their health care. I know the gentlewoman from Illinois and I knew the gentleman from New York and I know the gentleman from Massachusetts have read these letters. So very often. these very same families that are losing their retirement income have serious health problems within their families. either their children. their spouse. their parents. who they are taking care of. Their own retirement benefits and their health care benefits for their family were very important to them. and now they are saddled with increasing health care costs. with a diminished health care plan. if any at all. and. obviously. a greatly diminished pension. So these people are really suffering a double hit by the actions of United. We have written to our committee. the Committee on Education and the Workforce. for several years now. asking them to have hearings. asking them to look at this problem. asking them to look into the PBGC. Only today. as the Senate held its hearings. did people start talking about the loopholes. We have known about those loopholes on the committee for years. to bring to everyones attention how the pension plan was gamed. how the real figures are not disclosed to the employees. not disclosed to the investors. not disclosed to the public. the conditions of these pension plans. Only when it is too late are those disclosures made as the company enters into bankruptcy and there iW very little the employees can do about that. It is absolutely a scandal what has taken place here and the inaction of this Congress. Only now do we start to see them take action. But no inquiry before. no discussion of the problem. and even as we start to take this action we will not have the full information before us about the extent of this problem. and not just United Airlines but in major corporations all across the country. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.