November 16, 2005

Reid: Americans Need Retirement Security

Together, America Can Do Better

Washington, DC – Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid released the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the pensions bill:

“Senators Baucus and Kennedy should be congratulated for their diligent work in hammering out a consensus bill that provides security to workers and stability to the companies that offer defined benefit pension plans. The problems confronting employers that sponsor pension plans touch almost every industry and millions of workers.

“Americans are anxious about their future. Millions of Americans have worked hard over their lifetime and played by the rules. These folks have done everything right and it is unconscionable that some face a retirement without the retirement security they were promised. This bill will ensure their retirement benefits are there when they need them.

“The pensions bill should have been completed earlier this year. I am disappointed that work on pension reform was delayed by the insistence of the House Republican Leadership that it be part of a Social Security privatization plan - to put more pressure on the Congress to pass that flawed Social Security proposal. Those efforts failed and I am pleased that Senators Grassley and Enzi were willing to move ahead with their Democratic colleagues to develop a bipartisan bill that addresses this important issue.”

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