Gilbert Gutknecht: “I rise in the uncomfortable position of opposing both the bill and the substitute, and I would like to explain why. I am…”

“I rise in the uncomfortable position of opposing both the bill and the substitute, and I would like to explain why. I am not an expert on pension policy, but I did serve on the pension commission in the State of Minnesota, and I think I know a little bit about pension policy. Mr. Speaker, virtually everything in this bill is a good provision. Frankly, I think what the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) is talking about is something that deserves serious consideration as we talk about the future of Social Security. The fatal flaw of this bill is, it fails to deal with one of the most important issues, and that is a definition of the term 'vested.' ... This has happened to literally thousands of employees here in the United States. It happened to many of the people in my district who worked for a great company, IBM. After they had been vested, IBM changed their pension plan from a defined benefit plan to a new, convoluted program that they call a cash balance plan.”