Political Quotes

“I rise in opposition to both of the Congressional Review Act, or CRA, resolutions related to retirement that we will be considering this week. These CRA resolutions before us would kill Federal regulations that give cities and States the opportunity to expand retirement options for individuals. Our Nation faces a retirement crisis. In Hawaii, about 50 percent of private sector workers have jobs that don't provide retirement benefits. According to a recent survey by AARP Hawaii, 56 percent of working age people feel anxious about having enough money saved for retirement. For generations, Americans relied on the ``three-legged stool'' of retirement: Social Security, private savings, and a pension from their employer. Those days are gone. More and more seniors are relying on Social Security for a bigger share of their income in old age. In Hawaii, the average monthly Social Security benefit is $1,408. Given the cost of housing, medical insurance, and other necessities in Hawaii, that is not nearly enough. Seniors should be able to count on us to keep Social Security strong. That is a bedrock position we should honor. Given the retirement crisis, taking away tools that States and local governments can use to help bolster retirement savings makes absolutely no sense, yet this is what we are about to do if we pass these CRA resolutions. Last week, the Hawaii State Senate held a hearing on legislation that would establish a Hawaii retirement savings working group.…”