Political Quotes

“Mr. President, first of all, I thank my coleader of the committee, the great Senator from the State of Maine, who has been not only a great leader but also a terrific copartner as we try to offer leadership to the Special Committee on Aging. We are literally trying to make bipartisanship work. It is only because of folks such as Senator Collins that this is working and, as a result, we have a terrific committee. The members participate, they come, they are engaged, they ask the questions of the witnesses. As Senator Collins said, as a result of one of these hearings, under her leadership, she suggested putting together this important piece of legislation. Our committee held a hearing last fall called ``The State of the American Senior.'' We wanted to look at the financial security of the average senior in retirement. We didn't like what we heard. Fewer than half of the workers even have access to a retirement plan, and those numbers shrink when we talk about employees who work for small businesses. One-third of the private sector employees work at small businesses, and nearly 72 percent of businesses with under 100 employees offer no savings plan. I will repeat that: Of businesses under 100 employees, 72 percent do not offer a savings plan. So what do seniors then end up with? They rely on Social Security to get by in retirement, and that is simply not enough money to pay for housing and medical care and other expenses.…”