Date: 2004-09-14
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of the Sanders Amendment. The Sanders Amendment would ensure that the Treasury department not use any of its funds to undermine the federal court decision in Cooper v. IBM that held that cash balance conversions violate federal pension and age discrimination law. Weve been here many times before. In fact. this is the fourth time that the House is voting to protect older workers pensions under cash balance pension plan conversions. The last 2 times the amendment passed by 308121 and 258160. Instead of voting to prevent the Treasury department from undermining workers pensions. I wish we were voting on affirmative legislation to set "standards for cash balance plans. This issue has been going on since 1999. In 1999. IBM converted its pension plan to a cash balance plan. Luckily. its computer savvy workers quickly figured out that the conversion would reduce their expected pensions. . The workers mobilized and got Congress to hold hearings. The Clinton administration imposed a moratorium on approvals of conversions in September 1999. But then. the new Bush administration tried to issue regulations lifting the moratorium and permit conversions without any worker protections. Immediately 218 members of Congress wrote to the President urging him to revise the regulations and protect older workers. Four times the House and Senate have voted to require Treasury to withdraw its regulations and protect older workers. Finally. this year. in 2004. the Bush administration relented and withdrew the regulations. The administration even sent up a revised legislative proposal that contained a modicum of older worker protections though it did not go far enough to protect older workers. But. still the issue is not resolved. Either Congress or the courts must set standards for cash balance plans and conversions to such plans. The Republican Congress has done nothing on this issue for almost six years. If anything. Republican leaders would defer to employer lobbying and simply permit cash balance conversions without any protections for older workers. Thats why the Courts may have to be the body that resolves some of these issues. One court. the federal district court for the state of Illinois. determined that conversions are illegal. Other courts have disagreed. These cases and others still waiting to be heard will take years to resolve. This amendment makes clear that the Treasury department shall not interfere in these cases. Today worker pension security is in crisis. This administration has done nothing to protect workers pensions and done everything to undermine them. They didnt protect workers after Enron and WorldCom- from employers loading pension plans with employer stock and letting the executives protect themselves while leaving the workers stuck with worthless stock. They didnt protect participants in 401(k) plans from a broad range of mutual fund abuses that have decimated retirement nest eggs. And they are not protecting workers now from rampant pension underfunding. The PBGC. the agency that insures traditional pensions. has a $10 billion deficit. And if the airlines go under. the deficit will increase by another $30 billion. Over 1.000 pension plans are more than $50 million underfunded. And workers dont even know because the PBGC is required to keep the information secret. The administration and the Republican majority are doing nothing to protect worker pensions. I urge my colleagues to vote once again and remind the majority that it is the will of the Congress that older workers be protected in cash balance pension plan conversions.