Workforce Committee Republicans to Introduce President’s Bill to Strengthen Worker Retirement Security

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Describing it as “a good starting point” for bipartisan action on pension security, House Education & the Workforce Chairman John Boehner (R-OH) and Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) today announced they will introduce legislation proposed by President Bush that would help to protect and strengthen retirement security for American workers.

     “We’ll be introducing the President’s proposal as the first step toward a consensus product that can be signed into law on behalf of America’s workers,” Boehner said. “We need to ensure that workers are fully protected and fully equipped with the tools they need to protect and enhance their retirement savings.”

     “President Bush is right: ensuring retirement security for every American is essential. People who work and save for their whole lives deserve to retire with a golden egg, not a goose egg,” said Johnson.

     Boehner expressed optimism that common ground could be reached with Democrats, noting the bipartisan support in Congress for reforms such as giving workers better information about their retirement savings, requiring that employees be notified 30 days prior to the start of any blackout period involving their 401(k) plans, clarifying that employers have a fiduciary responsibility for workers’ investments during a blackout period, and precluding senior corporate executives from selling company stock at times when rank-and-file workers are unable to trade in their 401(k)s. All are key elements of the President’s proposal.

     Boehner also noted that many Democrats have declined to support placing arbitrary caps on the amount of company stock that can be held in an employee’s 401(k). Boehner, Johnson, and the administration oppose such caps because they would deprive millions of Americans of the freedom to decide for themselves how best to save for a secure retirement.

     Boehner and Johnson announced their intentions during the second day of the committee’s hearings on the collapse of the Enron Corporation. The committee last year passed the bipartisan Retirement Security Advice Act (H.R. 2269), legislation that would give workers access to professional investment advice about their retirement accounts. President Bush has urged the Senate to act on the bill, which passed the House in November with the support of 64 Democrats.

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