Kent Conrad: “I would like to further modify my request because I understand there are other Senators who also would like to speak as…”

The bottom 20 percent of earners get a 35-percent increase over what is scheduled, a more than 60-percent increase over what is payable.

I wish I could look you in the eye and say, you know, if we just had the will, we could reverse this, and we could go back to a time when defined benefit plans were on the increase. I do not think that is in the cards.

The consequence of failure has to be made clear.

There is going to be a 23-percent cut across the board by 2034.