Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, this is not a balanced bill. A look at what it does to help folks save for retirement tells the whole story. First, the bill will actually force the retirement benefits of many retired college professors to be reduced, cut benefits 3 to 5 percent. Then the bill does absolutely nothing to help middle income Americans save for retirement by expanding individual retirement accounts to make it a little easier for them to put money away. No, it does not do anything there at all. Rather, it creates a brand new tax break that benefits the most affluent seniors. The great majority of this new tax break, called backloaded IRA's, goes to the wealthiest 5 percent in this country. And so as it is with retirement savings, it is throughout this bill. Most of us get nothing. And the wealthiest get the most. With retirement savings, it is so unfortunate this decision has been made. Folks need help putting money away for retirement. But rather than extend help to those who need it the most, middle income and working income families, the bill does nothing. Rather, it creates all of the benefit for those who already have the money saved for retirement, the country's most affluent. Mr. Chairman, reject this bill. We can make it much better.”