Barbara Mikulski: “I hope Members take the time to listen to what we are saying here. We are about to make history. We are about to pass…”

“I hope Members take the time to listen to what we are saying here. We are about to make history. We are about to pass legislation that is going to make a difference. We are going to make sure that the lives of over 100 million people will be more secure because of what we have done tonight. We are going to make sure that good-guy businesses will have clear, certain rules so that they can continue to provide pensions. We are going to make sure that government, through heavyhandedness or unintended consequences, won't force these businesses into bankruptcy. We are going to protect the taxpayer to make sure that the pensions of hundreds of thousands of people aren't dumped into the Pension Benefit Guarant Corporation, leaving it to the taxpayer to do what the private sector should. And we succeeded because we worked together. I thank Senator Enzi for his leadership and his collegiality, his inclusion and his civility; Senator Kennedy for the leadership he provided to our side of the aisle and the very competent staff at his disposal; certainly to my colleague Senator DeWine. We chaired the Subcommittee on Retirement Security and Aging and held some of the first hearings out of the box. We tried to go at it with intellectual rigor and with fortitude. We promised we would do no harm to those who relied on a pension, to those who provided a pension, and to the Pension Guaranty. Do you know what? We did it. Then we moved it through the HELP Committee.…”