Political Quotes

“As the Senators are aware, the 401(k) has emerged as many baby boomers primary pension plan. 401(k)s now cover more than 22 million employees and invest more than $675 billion in pension assets. Many American workers now have more equity in their 401(k) plans than in their homes. Unfortunately, Federal law is currently less protective of 401(k)s than traditional defined-benefit pension plans. A company sponsoring a traditional plan is currently prohibited from investing more than 10 percent of its assets in company holdings, such as real property or company stock. This reasonable limitation, however, does not apply to 401(k) plans. The amendment I offered last night would extend this 10 percent limitation to 401(k) plans, enhancing pension security for millions of workers nationwide. I want to thank both the chairman and the ranking member of the Finance Committee for their assistance in clearing this important amendment. The amendment included a small change at the request of the Senator from Oklahoma.”