Political Quotes

“I rise today to support this Nations' workers, who deserve better treatment than they currently experience when their employers fail them. We all remember what happened with Enron. Thousands of workers toiled over decades to slowly build up good, solid companies of which they could be proud. Then, in just a few short years, these companies were bought up by a conglomerate and run into the ground. Enron went bankrupt and, just like that, the workers and retirees who spent their lives building something lost their jobs, their benefits, and most of their pensions. Our bankruptcy system helped facilitate that loss. It is not just Enron. Workers and retirees are always near the back of the line when their companies go into bankruptcy. Some firms have gone into bankruptcy at least in part because companies can walk away forever from some of their obligations to their employees. Today I am introducing the Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act, along with Senators Kennedy and Feingold.”