In his State of the Union address, President Bush pointed out "Employees who have worked hard and saved all their lives should not have to risk losing everything if their company fails." I applaud those who make sacrifices to save for retirement. Congress must make it easier for hardworking Americans to save for retirement by doing everything we can to make sure employees can safely invest their savings.

The Bush Administration recently proposed a package of pension safeguards that would give workers greater freedom to diversify their company retirement accounts. Under the President's plan, workers would be permitted to sell company stock after three years including shares contributed by companies as matching grants. People could then pursue other investment options, while companies would be encouraged to make outside financial advice available to employees.

The plan also proposes "pension parity" in which top executives would be forbidden from selling company stock during "blackout" periods when workers may not trade such stock in their 401(k) plans. The proposal is aimed at protecting workers from the problems faced by Enron employees.

Individual investors working to save for retirement - like the many rank-and-file Enron employees - should never be victims of fraud by dishonest auditors and companies. Entities that deceive investors should be held entirely responsible for the financial harm done. I am hopeful that Congress will make the changes needed so that employees feel safe investing their retirement savings.