Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, my colleague on the other side of the aisle said that we have a house on fire and we must do something about it. What this bill does is it gives more gasoline to the arsonist who started the fire. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 397, a risky, fiscally irresponsible, politically motivated scheme that will negatively impact hardworking Americans and retirees. Union multiemployer pension plans are currently underfunded by $638 billion, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, PBGC, which ensures these pensions, has a $54 billion deficit. In other words, workers and retirees won't see the benefits they have been promised because of union and employer negligence. This problem requires a serious, bipartisan response. That is why, historically, Members on both sides of the aisle have worked together on this issue. But last month, when the Education and Labor Committee marked up H.R. 397, committee Republicans were shut out of the debate and denied the opportunity to offer even a single amendment, a highly unfortunate and inappropriate decision. For the first time ever, taxpayers will prop u failing, mismanaged, union-run pension plans. These plans, all 160 of them, can apply for a government loan. There is no limit to the loan amount, and, remarkably, the loans will be completely forgiven if they are unable to be repaid after 29 years.…”